The use of Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques through three-dimensional printing (3D-printing) in the medical field is a reality that has been consolidated in recent years. These techniques make it possible to customize medical devices, adapting them to the needs of individual patients, to various therapeutic approaches and, more generally, to many applications including those of pre-clinical research, with the ultimate aim of improving clinical results.
The materials used in the AM and related technologies therefore represent strategic assets for the medicine of the future.
Proton therapy is one of the most advanced radiotherapy techniques which, by exploiting the physical interactions of protons with biological tissues, allows carry out high-precision treatments of excellence, minimizing short and long-term radio-induced toxicities. In Proton therapy (and more generally in Radiotherapy) the production of products (e.g. devices, accessories etc.) with 3D printing techniques has received in recent years increasing attention from researchers and operators in the sector, as evidenced by the numerous scientific publications .
The primary objective of the project is to implement objects made with AM and 3D-printing in a clinical and research context. In particular, we will focus on the following items:

• devices to be used, once tested and validated, in daily quality assurance (QA) procedures for clinical activities, to optimize procedures and improve their accuracy;


• customized systems for three-dimensional modulation and collimation (3D-RM) of the proton beam, designed to speed up patient treatment;


• devices for supporting beamline elements and for positioning samples in the experimental room, in order to extend the spectrum and quality of the experiments, in particular in the radiobiological and pre-clinical fields.