Radiotherapy is increasingly moving towards MR-guided and adaptive techniques. Lagendijk et al. (Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, 2014) highlight the importance of integrating imaging and therapy.

In future, materials must be both dosimetrically precise and highly compatible with imaging techniques such as CT or MRI. Artifacts or unclear density values can complicate the planning and verification of therapy and lead to uncertainties in dose calculation. This property is becoming particularly important in the context of adaptive radiotherapy, as imaging and treatment are becoming increasingly intertwined.

Bolus materials should therefore offer stable and reproducible physical properties throughout the entire treatment period. At the same time, aspects such as hygiene, reusability and patient-friendly application are coming into sharper focus. Looking to the future of radiotherapy, it is clear that materials must not only be functional but also optimally integrable into digital and image-guided workflows.