Comparison of Commercial Bolus with Bolus Produced by 3D Modeling

Abstract

In radiation therapy, bolus is a material which has properties equivalent to tissue when irradiated. It is widely used in practice to reduce or alter dosing for targeted radiation therapy. As an alternative to commercial bolus materials used in radiotherapy by using 3D modeling and printing technologies, the desired geometry, different material properties, to show that the patient can be produced specific and cheap. Thus, an alternative method for bolus material is to introduce the medical literature. In this study, boluses of the same geometry produced with 10 different materials and commercial bolus were measured in Linac device. The new generation boluses produced from ABS, Bronzefill, HIPS, PetG, PLA, PLAflex, PolyFlex TM, PP, STH and TPU materials were interpreted by comparing the values with the commercial bolus. According to the results, the new generation boluses are very promising.In the treatment planning phase, it will be a great advantage that the new generation bolus, which will be designed by scanning the patient's area to be treated with 3D scanner, will be produced with the materials of the desired characteristics with the support of 3D printer technology and will be compatible with the individual, radiotherapy area and the elements facilitating treatment planning.In addition, due to the surface roughness of the commercial bolus and errors caused by the air gaps formed between the patient's skin and the constant thickness geometry of the commercial bolus are some of the problems encountered during treatment. Since the new generation bolus is produced using 3D printing technology, it can be designed in any desired complex geometry and becomes advantageous over the commercial bolus. © 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.