Stratasys brings radiopaque 3D printing material RadioMatrix to the US

Stratasys is expanding the distribution of its radiopaque 3D printing material RadioMatrix to the entire US market. After a phase of limited pilot installations, the material has been widely available since early December to hospitals, medical device manufacturers, and research institutions. The primary target applications are CT and X-ray phantoms that allow imaging procedures and equipment to be tested and trained under controlled conditions.

Technically, RadioMatrix is based on the manufacturer’s PolyJet platform and can represent Hounsfield units over a wide range. In the print data workflow, users define which geometric regions should receive which density, for example for cortical bone, soft tissue, or vessels. According to Stratasys, this makes it possible to set specific Hounsfield target values; in tests, the resulting CT values remain within a few Hounsfield units of reference tissue, even in critical regions such as gray matter and venous structures. In combination with the J850 Digital Anatomy Printer, multilayer models are created that approximately replicate both the haptic and radiological properties of human tissue.

Joint studies with Siemens Healthineers attest the phantoms produced in this way a high degree of reproducibility for protocol optimization and algorithm development in CT imaging. In parallel, partners in the United Kingdom – including CPI and Beaumont Hospital – are testing radiographically realistic cerebral angiography phantoms for training in interventional radiology. In this context, the additively manufactured models partly replace traditional water or plastic phantoms as well as the use of cadavers, creating standardized, repeatable test environments.

“Providing full availability of RadioMatrix in the U.S. is a major step in providing cutting-edge imaging education and training,” said Erez Ben Zvi, Vice President, Healthcare, Stratasys. “By giving radiologists and device manufacturers the ability to print ultra-realistic, customized radiographically accurate models, we’re helping replace traditional phantom solutions and reliance on cadavers with customizable, repeatable, and scalable alternatives.”

For 3D printing in the medical field, RadioMatrix thus marks a further step away from purely illustrative models toward measurement-grade test and development platforms.