A comparison of thermoplastic and 3D printed masks for EBRT
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A comparison of thermoplastic and 3D printed beam directional shells on viability for External Beam Radiotherapy and user experience.
IRAS ID
201867
Contact name
Fiona Robertson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen Margaret Univesity
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 11 days
Research summary
The precision of a patient’s set-up for accurate delivery of radiotherapy is paramount. Particularly for patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancers due to the desire of prescribing the maximum therapeutic dose to the tumour whilst sparing normal tissue in close proximity. Advances in three-dimensional printing provide an opportunity to create an exact replica of a patient’s external anatomy for their treatment mask. User experience is also an important consideration and when a patient is relaxed, comfortable and confident their set-up is easier to reproduce and they are less likely to move.
The aim of this study is to directly compare currently used thermoplastic masks with 3D printed masks to determine whether significant improvements are achievable in the external reproducibility of treatment set-up; as well as assessing user experience of both masks.
Patients will not be used in this study. Seventeen healthy volunteers will be recruited for this study. Each volunteer will have a 3D printed and a thermoplastic mask created. This will require the volunteer to lie still on a hard surface. The type of thermoplastic mask used in the study is what is currently used in the Radiotherapy Department at Ninewells Hospital. For the 3D printed mask a handheld 3D scanner takes multiple photographic images to capture the volunteer’s external body contour. This information is then sent to a 3D printer for a customised 3D printed mask to be produced. Each mask will be given three alignment marks. This will allow left-right, superior-inferior, anterior-posterior alignment, and rotation reproducibility to be assessed on a weekly basis for four weeks.
After each mask has been worn the volunteer will then document their experience by completing the State Anxiety Inventory (Speilberger et al. 1983) which is based on a 4 point Likert scale consisting of 20 questions.REC name
East Midlands - Derby Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EM/0303
Date of REC Opinion
4 Aug 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion