Evaluation of novel 3D-printed and conventional thermoplastic stereotactic high-precision patient fixation masks for radiotherapy

Purpose: For stereotactic radiation therapy of intracranial malignancies, a patient’s head needs to be immobilized with high accuracy. Fixation devices such as invasive stereotactic head frames or non-invasive thermoplastic mask systems are often used. However, especially stereotactic high-precision masks often cause discomfort for patients due to a long manufacturing time during which the patient is required to lie still and because the face is covered, including the mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. To avoid these issues, the target was to develop a non-invasive 3D-printable mask system with at least the accuracy of the high-precision masks, for producing masks which can be manufactured in the absence of patients and which allow the eyes, mouth, and nose to be uncovered during therapy. Methods: For four volunteers, a personalized 3D-printed mask based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data was designed and manufactured using fused filament fabrication (FFF). Additionally, for each of the volunteers, a conventional thermoplastic stereotactic high-precision mask from Brainlab AG (Munich, Germany) was fabricated. The intra-fractional fixation accuracy for each mask and volunteer was evaluated using the motion-correction algorithm of functional MRI measurements with and without guided motion. Results: The average values for the translations and rotations of the volunteers’ heads lie in the range between ±1mm and ±1° for both masks. Interestingly, the standard deviations and the relative and absolute 3D displacements are lower for the 3D-printed masks compared to the Brainlab masks. Conclusion: It could be shown that the intra-fractional fixation accuracy of the 3D-printed masks was higher than for the conventional stereotactic high-precision masks.