3D-Printed Thermoluminescent Radiation Detectors Using Composite Polypropylene-CaSO4-Dysprosium Filaments

Conventional thermoluminescent radiation detectors (TLDs) are typically manufactured with fixed geometries—in this work, we attempt for the first time to employ additive manufacturing for the fabrication of customized radiation detectors, with the prospect of evolving geometrically complex and application-specific TLDs for incorporation into phantoms for use in medical radiology. While additive manufacturing has found applications in dose verification, quality assurance, imaging modalities, settings optimization of medical imaging devices, and the replication of soft and bone tissues, with a wide range of thermoplastic polymers used in extrusion printing having been extensively investigated for their radiological properties, there are no reported TLD examples, thus limiting the prospects of this technology. In this work, we manufacture composite polypropylene-CaSO4-dysprosium filaments for 3D-printed TLDs, and we evaluate their response by irradiating 3D-printed prototypes in a medical linear accelerator. Our results validate their functionality within the limits imposed by the melting points of the polymeric binders, effectively qualifying them as TLDs for detection—but not dosimetry. Thus, 3D-printed TLDs incorporated in phantoms can enhance radiological investigations for detecting exposure to potentially harmful radiation.