CHARACTERIZATION OF NOVEL 3D-PRINTED METAL SHIELDING FOR BRACHYTHERAPY APPLICATORS

Abstract

Samples of 3D-printed stainless steel were embedded in a solid water phantom. An Ir-192 source was used to expose EBT3 Gafchromic film which were used to determine the samples’ shielding properties. Film was positioned in the sagittal plane with two metal positions, using a plan that delivered uniform dose to that plane. The depth dose experiment had the film positioned in the transvers plane and was recreated using Monte Carlo simulations. The planar dose passing through the metal samples, decreased dose over a range of 7.4±6.9% to 26.5±5.5% at the midpoint and showed a dose enhancement of ~5% when metal was directly adjacent to the film. The average decrease in depth dose from a single dwell position ranged from 1.8% to 15.6%. Similar results were found using Monte Carlo simulations. A maximum reduction in dose of 26.5±5.5% was measured 2 cm from the source using the 5 mm sample.