Program Information

Comparison of Several Lumbar Intervertebral Fusion Titanium Cages with Respect to Their Backscattering Properties

T Failing

T Failing¹*, N Chofor¹ , D Poppinga¹ , A Schoenfeld¹ , K Willborn² , B Poppe¹ , (1) Pius Hospital and Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg, Germany, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, (2) Pius Hospital Oldenburg, Germany, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen

Presentations

SU-E-T-82 Sunday 3:00PM - 6:00PM Room: Exhibit Hall

Purpose: Investigating the backscatter dose factor with regards to structure and geometry of the surface material.

Methods: The titanium cages used for this study representing both prototypes and well established products are made of a laser-sintered titanium alloy (AditusV GmbH, Berlin, Germany). A set of four radiochromic EBT3 films was used in a stacked geometry to measure the range and the magnitude of the expected surface dose enhancement due to the in comparison to water increased secondary electron release from the material. The measurement geometry and the small thickness of radiochromic EBT3 film allowed the dose measurement at distances of 0.1 mm, 0.9 mm, 1.7 mm and 2.5 mm from the probe surfaces. Water reference measurements were taken under equal conditions, in order to allow the calculation of the relative dose enhancement at the surface of a probe. Measurements were performed within a water phantom. An Epson Expression 10000 XL flatbed scanner was used for digitization.

Results: Sintered titanium showed a dose enhancement factor of 1.22 at the surface of the material. The factor can be reduced to less than 1.10 by utilizing mesh structures. In both cases, the dose enhancement factor decreased to less than 1.03 at a distance of 1.7mm indicating the low energy of scattered electrons.

Conclusion: Backscattering of titanium cages should be considered in treatment planning, especially when the cages are located close to organs at risk. While mesh structures were introduced to improve bone fusion with the implant structure, the potentially harmful surface dose enhancement is significantly reduced.


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