Thyroid cancer cases are rising worldwide and are now one of the top cancers in Malaysia. Treatments using radionuclide therapy can be effective, but they rely on delivering the right dose to the right area, which is difficult to measure accurately. Current dosimetry methods often face errors and uncertainty due to poor imaging models, mistakes during image processing, and inaccurate dose calculations. It's also hard to personalise treatment because commercial phantoms (used to model the body for testing) are often too simple, expensive, and slow to produce. This makes it challenging to measure and plan accurate radiation doses for each patient, which can affect treatment success. A better, more accurate and affordable solution is needed for personalised dose measurement in thyroid cancer therapy.

The solution is a 3D-printed thyroid phantom that accurately mimics the real shape and size of the human thyroid gland, with adjustable geometry to represent different age groups. This allows for more personalised and precise dosimetry in thyroid cancer treatment. It is made using commercially available and cost-effective 3D printing materials, making it more affordable than traditional tissue-equivalent phantom materials. The phantom also includes built-in holes for radiation detectors, making it the first 3D-printed thyroid phantom capable of directly measuring radiation doses from both internal and external sources, greatly improving the accuracy and reliability of dose assessment.

The innovation lies in the development of a 3D-printed dynamic thyroid phantom, designed using 3Ds Max software and printed with polycarbonate material. Unlike conventional phantoms, this model accurately replicates the shape and size of the human thyroid and can be adjusted to fit different age groups, allowing for more personalised and precise assessment of dosimetry and image quality. A key advancement is the integration of a portable infusion system, which enables the simulation of time-dependent radiation activity. This allows researchers to study how the radiation dose changes over time, making it the first dynamic thyroid phantom of its kind to support realistic, time-based dosimetry studies.