Abstract
ObjectiveBoluses are used in high-energy radiotherapy in order to overcome the skin sparing effect. In practice though, commonly used flat boluses fail to make a perfect contact with the irregular surface of the patient’s skin, resulting in air gaps. Hence, we fabricated a customized bolus using a 3-dimensional (3D) printer and evaluated its feasibility for radiotherapy.MethodsWe designed two kinds of bolus for production on a 3D printer, one of which was the 3D printed flat bolus for the Blue water phantom and the other was a 3D printed customized bolus for the RANDO phantom. The 3D printed flat bolus was fabricated to verify its physical quality. The resulting 3D printed flat bolus was evaluated by assessing dosimetric parameters such as D1.5 cm, D5 cm, and D10 cm. The 3D printed customized bolus was then fabricated, and its quality and clinical feasibility were evaluated by visual inspection and by assessing dosimetric parameters such as Dmax, Dmin, Dmean, D90%, and V90%.ResultsThe dosimetric parameters of the resulting 3D printed flat bolus showed that it was a useful dose escalating material, equivalent to a commercially available flat bolus. Analysis of the dosimetric parameters of the 3D printed customized bolus demonstrated that it is provided good dose escalation and good contact with the irregular surface of the RANDO phantom.ConclusionsA customized bolus produced using a 3D printer could potentially replace commercially available flat boluses.
Highlights
Since the discovery of X-rays over one hundred years ago, radiotherapy has been used for the treatment of tumors
The percent depth dose (PDD) from the treatment planning system (TPS) and film dosimetry are shown in Figure 3, and the shapes of the plots of the calculated PDD from the TPS are similar to those for the measured PDD from the film
The 3D printed customized bolus was found to fit well against the surface of the RANDO phantom, and this was verified in cross section (Figure 4c, d) and by Computed tomography (CT) imaging (Figure 4e, f)
Summary
Since the discovery of X-rays over one hundred years ago, radiotherapy has been used for the treatment of tumors. In order to deliver a sufficient radiation dose to the tumor, adequate types of radiation are selected depending on the tumor location. High-energy photon is used to treat deeply located lesions and electron is used for the treatment of superficial lesions such as skin cancer. A sufficient dose cannot be delivered to the surface due to the skin sparing effect of high-energy radiation beams. To avoid this limitation, several types of commercially available boluses are often used [2]. Several types of commercially available boluses are often used [2] These bolus materials should be nearly tissue equivalent and allow a sufficient surface dose enhancement
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