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Superflab

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6 Megavoltage (MV) photons treat many superficial tumors. More importantly, they often require a bolus to bring the depth of maximum dose closer to the skin surface. Also, a bolus compensates for uneven skin surfaces or irregular contours on the patient’s surface. The depth of maximum equilibrium describes the depth in which the maximum dose of the formulated radiation deposited into the skin (Washington & Leaver, 2010). Bolus material should be flexible, pliable, and tissue-equivalent. There is no study that compares green Play-Doh, orange Play-Doh, water and uncooked rice to Superflab for providing maximum dose buildup, Dmax. Benoit, Pruitt, and Thrall (2009) assessed the quality of wet gauze compared to Superflab. Using different sizes and levels of wetness, and variable densities of the bolus material, the investigators measured each material three times using a 6 MV radiation source. The results were that a wet gauze with a density of 1.02 g/cm3 had the identical measurement to Superflab. While a smaller gauze with a density of .75 g/cm3 was not as efficient. Also, wet gauze eliminated air gaps with the skin surface. The researchers concluded Superflab was least effective in eliminating air gaps and wet gauze with a …show more content…

Also, using the same technique for Superflab and uncooked rice, concluded the Dmax for Superflab was 4.101x10^-8 and 4.108x10^-8 for uncooked rice. Finally, the average Dmax readings for the green Play-Doh was 4.050x10^-8C (Table 1 and 2). The investigator used solid water as a control to calculate the ratios for each of the bolus materials (Table 3). The One-Way ANOVA concluded differences between the groups (F=523.6, P<0.0001). The average standard deviation between all the samples was

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