Development and validation of a 3D-printed skin imitation layer for real-time localized skin dose assessment

Abstract

The skin is an organ inevitably exposed to radiation, and deterministic effects may occur depending on the absorbed dose. A physician's treatment plan for an exposed individual depends on the absorbed dose and must be established before the onset of deterministic symptoms, necessitating rapid and accurate dose assessment. In this study, a Skin Imitation Layer (SIL) was developed using 3D printing technology to evaluate the feasibility of localized skin dose assessment. The SIL consists of an Epidermis Layer (EL) and a Basal Layer (BL), each designed to be 50 μm thick. Thickness measurements confirmed values close to the design, and tissue equivalence was assessed through compositional analysis and Monte Carlo simulation using the MCNPX code. The absorbed dose per fluence (D/Φ) for alpha particles, electrons, and photons showed good agreement with dose conversion coefficients from the ICRP 116 report across most energy ranges. In addition, experimental verification was conducted using four gamma sources. The radiation responsiveness of the SIL was confirmed by isolating the scintillation signal from the BL using a subtraction based approach. These results suggest that the SIL exhibits tissue-equivalent physical and radiological properties and has potential for use as a retrospective dosimeter or in clinical applications for localized skin dose assessment.