Commercial bolus is frequently used to increase dose at the patient's surface for superficial radiotherapy; however, uneven surfaces can create air gaps and discrepancies between prescribed and delivered dose. The purpose of this study was to determine if a customizable, 3D-printed bolus would improve dosimetry compared with a commercial bolus. For each patient, a planned bolus was generated within planning software, then created with 3D-printing. The treatment plan was recalculated with each bolus . When evaluating tumor volumes at prescription, the 3D-printed bolus was closer to prescription compared to the commercial bolus. There was a significant difference in air gaps in patients receiving radiotherapy to the head ( < 0.001) but the difference was not significant for air gaps in caudal body sites ( = 0.05). Overall, the 3D-printed bolus resulted in reduced air gaps, dosimetry closer to prescription, and should be considered for superficial treatment areas of high irregularity.
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7238465 | PMC |
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