Author: Jeonghoon Park, Amritha Praveen, Siddhant Sen, James J. Sohn, Ethan D. Stolen 👨🔬
Affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Radiation & Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago, Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, The University of Chicago, Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 🌍
Purpose: Accurate fabrication of custom boluses is essential in radiation therapy to enhance dose delivery to superficial tumors, especially in anatomically complex regions. This study introduces a novel method utilizing spectral mesh flattening (SMF) to unfold three-dimensional (3D) virtual bolus designs into two-dimensional (2D) contours, aiming to improve the fabrication workflow and enhance the precision of bolus shape and placement.
Methods: Accurate fabrication of custom boluses is essential in radiation therapy to enhance dose delivery to superficial tumors, especially in anatomically complex regions. This study introduces a novel method utilizing spectral mesh flattening (SMF) to unfold three-dimensional (3D) virtual bolus designs into two-dimensional (2D) contours, aiming to improve the fabrication workflow and enhance the precision of bolus shape and placement.
Results: The SMF algorithm effectively transformed complex 3D bolus geometries into accurate 2D contours, preserving the shape and dimensions of the original designs. The ONCOFLAT software facilitated a streamlined and efficient unfolding process, significantly reducing the time required for bolus fabrication to less than five minutes. Quantitative evaluation showed DSC values ranging from 0.59 to 0.62 across different anatomical sites. The average Hausdorff distance for all sites remained below 1.3 mm, and the 95% Hausdorff distance values ranged between 3.50 mm and 4.22 mm.
Conclusion: The integration of the SMF algorithm within the ONCOFLAT software provides an accurate and efficient method for unfolding 3D virtual boluses into 2D contours suitable for fabrication. This approach streamlines the custom bolus production process and enhances placement accuracy, potentially improving dose delivery in radiation therapy. The method addresses the challenges associated with fabricating boluses for complex anatomical surfaces and may contribute to more personalized and effective patient treatments.