3D printed customized bolus for intensity-modulated radiotherapy in a patient with nasal radiotherapy

Background: the aim of the study was to compare the dose differences between 3dprinted bolus, commercial bolus (wax), thermoplastic mask bolus and bolus-free head phantoms simulating nose radiotherapy. materials and methods: we used 3d printing technology to make a 3d-printed bolus. to evaluate the clinical feasibility, intensitymodulated radiation therapy (imrt) plans were created for head phantoms that were 3d-printed bolus, commercial bolus (wax), thermoplastic mask bolus or bolus-free. dosimetry differences were compared in simulating nose radiotherapy. results: for the ptv of all the plans, 3d-printed bolus, commercial bolus (wax) and thermoplastic masks bolus had lower dmax and d1% than the plan without the bolus; for dmean and d95%, the results were the opposite. for v90%, v95%, v100% and hi, the plan with the 3d-printed bolus was better than the others, and the plan without the bolus was the worst. conclusions: the dosimetric differences of 3d-printed bolus, commercial bolus (wax), thermoplastic mask bolus and bolus-free were compared in head phantoms simulating nose radiotherapy. the 3d-printed bolus was good for fit, had a high level of comfort and repeatability, and also had better dose parameters in imrt plans.