In recent years, a method for designing radiotherapy boluses using 3D printing technology has been established in the West Pomeranian Oncology Centre in Szczecin, Poland. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the ionising radiation used in radiotherapy affects the physical properties of the printing material. Particularly, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a 60 Gy X-ray radiation dose on the hardness and dimensions of 3D-printed boluses. Four cuboids were printed on a Zortrax M200 printer with acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) polymer. All printed samples were exposed to 60 Gy of X-ray radiation delivered by a medical accelerator. After irradiation, changes in the hardness (using Vickers test) and dimensions of the prints were measured. The therapeutic X-ray dose had a minimal effect on the dimensions of the printed samples, resulting in a maximum contraction of only 0.4%. Changes of the hardness were not statistically significant. In conclusion, regarding the radiotherapy planning process, the application of this therapeutic X-ray dose does not significantly influence the hardness and dimensions of ABS-printed boluses.

近年来，波兰什切青的西波美拉尼亚肿瘤中心建立了一种使用 3D 打印技术设计放射治疗丸剂的方法。本研究的目的是调查放射治疗中使用的电离辐射是否会影响打印材料的物理特性。特别是，本研究的目的是确定 60 Gy X 射线辐射剂量对 3D 打印丸的硬度和尺寸的影响。四个长方体用丙烯腈-丁二烯-苯乙烯 (ABS) 聚合物在 Zortrax M200 打印机上打印。所有打印的样品都暴露于由医疗加速器提供的 60 Gy 的 X 射线辐射。辐照后，测量硬度（使用维氏测试）和印刷尺寸的变化。治疗性 X 射线剂量对打印样本的尺寸影响很小，导致最大收缩率仅为 0.4%。硬度的变化无统计学意义。总之，关于放射治疗计划过程，这种治疗性 X 射线剂量的应用不会显着影响 ABS 打印丸剂的硬度和尺寸。