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Feasibility Study of Using Custom 3D-Printed Bismuth Shields in Electron Beam Treatment

A Sheikh1*, B Overshiner2, Y Yue1,2,3, C Desrosiers1,2,3, K Huang1,2,3, (1) Indiana University,(2) IU Health University Hospital, (3) Indiana University- School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN

Presentations

SU-IePD-TRACK 6-7 (Sunday, 7/25/2021) 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM [Eastern Time (GMT-4)]

Purpose: Low-energy electrons (6-9 MeV) are often used to irradiate tumors on patient’s skin. External shields are used to minimize the radiation exposure to non-treatment areas. Comparing to lead shield, 3D printed shield can be made more conformal to the patient’s skin surrounding the lesion, which reduces the radiation to the outside region and increases patient's comfort. This study evaluates the capability of bismuth-based 3D-shield as an alternative to lead in attenuating the electrons.

Methods: Four rectangular (12x12cm) shields of varying thicknesses (one 1mm, two 2mm, and one 5mm) were 3D-printed using bismuth-based filament, which can be combined to create thickness from 1mm to 10mm. Each shield was printed solid with a 100% infill on a MatterHackers Pulse XE 3D printer with an enclosure using GMASS bismuth ABS filament. Transmission for the shield of different thickness from electrons with energies of 6, 9, 12, 16, and 20 MeV was measured using an ion chamber and a 10x10 cm2 cone. The depth of measurement was 1.4cm for 6E and 2.5cm for other energies. SSD was 100cm.

Results: The transmission of the 3D-shield were within 5% for 6E and 9E beam with ≤ 10mm thickness. The transmission was 3.57%, 1.81%, 1.28%, and 1.12% for 6E beam with shield of 7 to 10mm, respectively. For the 9E beam, the acceptable thickness was 10mm with the transmission of 4.77%.Discussion and

Conclusion: To use 3D-printed bismuth radiation shields as an alternative to lead sheets is promising. For 6E beam, from 7mm above, the dose can be reduced to less than 5%. The transmission for 10mm shield is within a reasonable range for 9E beam. For the other energies, the transmission was over 5% with 10mm bismuth shield. However, tungsten can be used to reduce the thickness and will be studied in the future.

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