(Saturday, 4/7/2018)
Room: Foyer
Purpose: To fabricate patient specific bolus for photon and electron treatment using 3D scanning and 3D printing.
Methods: The surface geometry of the patient treatment area is acquired using 3D SYSTEMS Sense Handheld 3D Scanner, which is then digitized and modeled in Rhinoceros 5 CAD software. We tested two ways to fabricate a custom bolus: casting and direct printing. (1) For casting, a 3D model of the mold is designed in Rhinoceros 5, and 3D printed using PLA filament with 10% infill density. The resulting mold is then used to make a silicone bolus casting using SMOOTH-ON PMC-780 industrial liquid rubber compound. (2) For direct printing, a 3D model of the bolus is designed in Rhinoceros 5 and directly printed using PLA filament with 100% infill density. The Mold and bolus are printed using Fusion3 F400-S 3D printer.
Results: Both methods produce bolus with clinically acceptable densities and fit the patient surface. The silicone bolus made by casting method is soft and more comfortable for the patient but required four days to prepare (one day to design and print, three days to solidify the casting material). The direct printing method, on the other hand, requires only one day to prepare but is less comfortable.
Conclusion: We have demonstrated the applicability of bolus fabrication using 3D printing technology. The direct printing method has been successfully implemented clinically at University of Florida cancer center for electron radiation therapy.
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