Faculty of Physics, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Ovidius Clinical Hospital, Department of Radiotherapy, Constanța, Romania.
Ovidius Clinical Hospital, Department of Radiotherapy, Constanța, Romania; Faculty of Medicine, Ovidius University, Constanța, Romania.
Phys Med. 2024 Nov;127:104849. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmp.2024.104849. Epub 2024 Nov 1.
3D-printed boluses in radiation therapy receive consideration for their ability to enhance treatment precision and patient comfort. Yet, thorough validation of 3D-printed boluses using various validation procedures and statistical analysis is missing. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of using 3D-printed boluses in radiation therapy.
The CT Hounsfield Unit (HU) profiles of the 3D-printed materials were compared to those of the commercial bolus using the Eclipse Treatment Planning System (TPS) unit. Furthermore, absolute dose measurements were carried out to assess the efficacy of the 3D-printed samples by using concordance correlation coefficient to assess the agreement between 3D materials and the commercial bolus.
The average HU profiles of 3D-printed materials were: -144.53 (ABS), -124.40 (ASA), 9.55 (PLA-P), -140.79 (Polycarbonate), -68.58 (PLA-S), and -113.159 (PET-G), respectively. PDD scans showed that air gaps between the bolus and surface shifted the maximum dose depth. Whereas dosimetry has shown that ASA and Polycarbonate are different in attenuation from other tested filaments. This limitation could affect their performance in specific applications within radiation therapy. The final analysis, using the TPS-generated datasets to assess the area under the dose curve in the build-up zone of each 3D-bolus, excluded ABS.
The results from PDD scans and dose assessments offer compelling proof that 3D-printed boluses are effective for delivering surface dosage and are like commercially available boluses. Moreover, specific materials showed a statistically significant improvement in delivering the dose. The results highlight the capability of 3D-printed boluses to enhance the effectiveness of radiation therapy.
3D 打印挡块在放射治疗中因其能够提高治疗精度和患者舒适度而受到关注。然而，使用各种验证程序和统计分析对 3D 打印挡块进行全面验证的研究还很缺乏。本研究旨在确定 3D 打印挡块在放射治疗中的有效性。
使用 Eclipse 治疗计划系统（TPS）单元比较 3D 打印材料的 CT 亨氏单位（HU）轮廓与商业挡块的 CT 亨氏单位（HU）轮廓。此外，通过使用一致性相关系数来评估 3D 材料与商业挡块之间的一致性，对 3D 打印样本进行绝对剂量测量，以评估 3D 打印样本的疗效。
3D 打印材料的平均 HU 轮廓分别为：-144.53（ABS）、-124.40（ASA）、9.55（PLA-P）、-140.79（聚碳酸酯）、-68.58（PLA-S）和-113.159（PET-G）。PDD 扫描显示，挡块和表面之间的空气间隙会使最大剂量深度移位。而剂量学研究表明，ASA 和聚碳酸酯在衰减方面与其他测试的长丝不同。这种局限性可能会影响它们在放射治疗中特定应用中的性能。最后，使用 TPS 生成的数据集评估每个 3D 挡块的 buildup 区的剂量曲线下面积，排除了 ABS。
PDD 扫描和剂量评估的结果提供了令人信服的证据，证明 3D 打印挡块可有效地提供表面剂量，与市售挡块相似。此外，特定材料在提供剂量方面表现出统计学上的显著改善。这些结果突出了 3D 打印挡块增强放射治疗效果的能力。
