Active thermography for quality assurance of 3D-printed polymer structures

In OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, cancer is one of the main causes of death, lung cancer being one of the most aggressive. There are several techniques for the treatment of lung cancer, among which radiotherapy is one of the most effective and least invasive for the patient. However, it has associated difficulties due to the moving target tumor. It is possible to reduce the side effects of radiotherapy by effectively tracking a tumor and reducing target irradiation margins. This paper presents a custom electromechanical system that follows the movement of a lung tumor. For this purpose, a hysteresis loop of human lung movement during breathing was studied to obtain its characteristic movement equation. The system is controlled by an Arduino, steppers motors and a customized 3D printed mechanism to follow the characteristic human breathing, obtaining an accurate trajectory. The developed device helps the verification of individualized radiation treatment plans and permits the improvement of radiotherapy quality assurance procedures.

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Patient-Specific Quality Assurance Using a 3D-Printed Chest Phantom for Intraoperative Radiotherapy in Breast Cancer

Frontiers in Oncology ◽

10.3389/fonc.2021.629927 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Yeonho Choi ◽

Ik Jae Lee ◽

Kwangwoo Park ◽

Kyung Ran Park ◽

Yeona Cho ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Assurance ◽

Soft Tissue ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Intraoperative Radiotherapy ◽

Hounsfield Unit ◽

Patient Specific ◽

Depth Dose ◽

Dose Comparison ◽

3D Printed ◽

The Mean

This study aims to confirm the usefulness of patient-specific quality assurance (PSQA) using three-dimensional (3D)-printed phantoms in ensuring the stability of IORT and the precision of the treatment administered. In this study, five patient-specific chest phantoms were fabricated using a 3D printer such that they were dosimetrically equivalent to the chests of actual patients in terms of organ density and shape around the given target, where a spherical applicator was inserted for breast IORT treatment via the INTRABEAM™ system. Models of lungs and soft tissue were fabricated by applying infill ratios corresponding to the mean Hounsfield unit (HU) values calculated from CT scans of the patients. The two models were then assembled into one. A 3D-printed water-equivalent phantom was also fabricated to verify the vendor-provided depth dose curve. Pieces of an EBT3 film were inserted into the 3D-printed customized phantoms to measure the doses. A 10 Gy prescription dose based on the surface of the spherical applicator was delivered and measured through EBT3 films parallel and perpendicular to the axis of the beam. The shapes of the phantoms, CT values, and absorbed doses were compared between the expected and printed ones. The morphological agreement among the five patient-specific 3D chest phantoms was assessed. The mean differences in terms of HU between the patients and the phantoms was 2.2 HU for soft tissue and −26.2 HU for the lungs. The dose irradiated on the surface of the spherical applicator yielded a percent error of −2.16% ± 3.91% between the measured and prescribed doses. In a depth dose comparison using a 3D-printed water phantom, the uncertainty in the measurements based on the EBT3 film decreased as the depth increased beyond 5 mm, and a good agreement in terms of the absolute dose was noted between the EBT3 film and the vendor data. These results demonstrate the applicability of the 3D-printed chest phantom for PSQA in breast IORT. This enhanced precision offers new opportunities for advancements in IORT.

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