Hyung Jin Choun, Jung-in Kim, Jong Min Park, Jaeman Son
Progress in Medical Physics
2022.12
Conventional gonadal shields are manufactured in standardized sizes and shapes and do
not conform to individual testicular contours, causing discomfort. We developed a novel patient
specific gonadal shield using thermoplastic sheets and tested its feasibility through dosimetric
evaluations.
During the computed tomography simulation, custom lead shields were fabricated using
thermoplastic sheets that were molded to the testicular shape of the patient. The shielding efficacy
was evaluated using optically stimulated luminescent dosimeters (OSLDs) for point dose
measurements.
The thermoplastic sheet was molded to fit closely to the skin with a minimal air gap of
approximately 8.4 cm³, providing comfort to the patient during treatment. The patient-specific
shield effectively reduced the surface dose from 28 cGy to less than 15 cGy. By combining the
OSLDs located in the same row and calculating the mean dose value, a shielding effect was
achieved with a maximum dose reduction of 56.1%.
Customized gonadal shields were successfully created using thermoplastic sheets to
minimize patient discomfort during application. However, further improvements in lead shield
fabrication are needed to ensure full conformity.
