| Abstract [eng] |
This pilot study investigates the feasibility of using Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) filament and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology to build a medical physics phantom motivated by the growing demand for cost-effective, customizable, available alternatives to commercial phantoms used in quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) protocols in medical imaging. In this study, PMMA was selected given its favorable radiological characteristics, proved suitability for radiological imaging applications, and compatibility with FDM printing technology. A printing protocol developed for 100% infill printing of PMMA in a FDM Zortrax M300 was followed but various printing challenges such as warping, layer adhesion failures, and thermal stability were encountered which led to limited printable dimensions achievable in the z axis. A radiological evaluation was performed for assessment of the samples attenuation properties in terms of achievable Hounsfield Units (HU) within the soft-tissue-equivalent range. Although greater variability compared to their commercial counterpart was observed, no high-density structure was identified in the prints, contradicting earlier observations that were likely due to CT imaging border artifacts. Additionally, the presence of air pockets observable in the Ct images highlights the potential for printing internal air cavities which could be beneficial in future designs. The study outlines the technical limitations related to printability and structural integrity of 100% infill FDM AM using PMMA whilst also provides practical recommendations for future research including dimension constraints, material behavior under CT, and printing and scanning environments considerations. |
