Cervical applicator for high dose radiation brachytherapy
AssigneePaxton Equities, LLC
InventorMichael Harmon
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A modified Fletcher-Suit tandem tube applicator includes a balloon which can be inflated to both positionally secure the applicator within the vaginal canal and to distend the confronting vaginal wall thereby increasing the distance of such tissue from the radioactive source contained in the tandem tube of applicator and correspondingly reducing radiation damage to nearby tissues and organs such as the rectum and bladder.
Claims20
A cervical applicator for use in brachytherapy comprising:
- a rigid, intravaginal tube for receiving a radioactive sample therein and insertion into a patient's vagina;
- a hollow, rigid intracervical tube coupled to the intravaginal tube for receiving a radioactive sample therein and insertion into the patient's cervix;
- an inflatable balloon element mounted on an intravaginal portion of one of the tubes;
- and
- a fluid tube for communicating inflation fluid to the inflatable balloon element,
- where the balloon is inflatable with a radiation attenuating fluid to reduce the effective impinging radiation dose passing therethrough and to urge the tissues in contact with the inflated balloon away from the tubes to positionally secure the applicator intravaginally.
A modified Fletcher-Suit applicator for delivery of an irradiation source used in brachytherapy comprising:
- an elongated, rigid tandem tube having a proximal end including an opening and a closed distal end where the tandem tube has a sufficient length to project transvaginally and a select distance into the cervix, said tandem tube defining a hollow bore and permits selectively removable insertion of a radioactive source from said proximal opening to the distal end;
- a colpastat tube;
- rigid connecting means for affixedly connecting the tandem and colpastat tubes at a select distance therebetween;
- inflatable balloon means mounted on a select one of said tubes for positionally securing said applicator within a patient's vaginal canal, for di and for providing attenuation of radioactive emissions from the radioactive source to tissues proximate to the balloon;
- and
- fluid communication means for communicating radiation attenuating fluid between a reservoir and said balloon and cause the inflation and deflation thereof.
A brachytherapy method comprising:
- inserting an applicator transvaginally where the applicator includes a rigid tube of a length sufficient to project intracervically and the tube has affixed thereto an inflatable balloon where the balloon is positionable within the vaginal canal;
- inflating the balloon with a radiation attenuating fluid where the balloon expands against the wall of the vaginal canal thereby securing the attenuator relative to the vaginal canal and urging the vaginal canal wall away from the tube, and
- inserting a radioactive sample into the applicator.
20 The method of using a modified applicator according to claim 1 including the steps of introducing the applicator into the patients vagina, inflating the balloon with an radiation attenuating fluid and introducing the radiation source into the tandem tube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.