Step-by-step of 3D printing a head-and-neck phantom

Abstract

3D printing has evolved and become popular very quickly over the last 10 years, including its use in health and biomedical applications. Phantoms that mimic the interaction of radiation within the human body have been manufactured for many years using various technologies with great demand. However, their availability is restricted, and their cost is considerably high, especially considering exchange rates and importation taxes to Brazil. Thus, this paper aims to share the step-by-step process of 3D printing a head-and-neck phantom using fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology. A CIRS 711 Atom Max phantom CT image was used as the basis for the segmentation of the phantom. Radiopaque FFF filaments XCT-0, XCT-A, and XCT-C were used to build soft tissue, bone, and dental enamel, respectively. The phantom’s design and segmentation were performed using the “3D Slicer Software,” resulting in 58 different 3D models. The models were organized as 20 mm individual slabs, which were later sliced using Simplify3D software to be printed on a GTMaX Pro Core H4 3D printer coupled with a Mosaic Pallet 2S multi-material system. An imaging analysis was then performed to compare the original CIRS 711 Atom Max and the 3D printed phantom composed of 14 slabs. The proposed methodology of this study shows the possible use of tomographic images of any objects or anatomy to perform 3D prototyping of patient-specific and customized phantoms. The phantom imaging comparison shows great results using the proposed FFF filaments to mimic the main human tissues of the head-and-neck region. This methodology represents a feasible alternative to develop CT tissue-equivalent phantoms with desirable characteristics for radiation technology and biomedical applications, e.g. patient positioning, imaging techniques optimization and in vivo dosimetry. Additionally, the developed phantom is cost-effective and can be obtained for around 10% of the cost of a commercially available phantom in Brazil.