Implant for Targeting Therapeutic Procedure
OwnerJames B. Stubbsinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An implantable device has a body that is substantially rigid and has a predetermined shape. The body is further bioabsorbable and has a density less than or equal to about 1.03 g/cc. When the device is implanted in a resected cavity in soft tissue, it causes the cavity to conform to the predetermined shape. The implantable device is further imageable due to its density being less than that of soft tissue such that the boundaries of the tissue corresponding to the predetermined shape can be determined.
Claims21
A method for treating a proliferative tissue disease in a patient comprising:
- excising diseased tissue from the patient and thereby creating a tissue cavity;
- placing a bioabsorbable implant within the tissue cavity, the implant having a predetermined shape and including means for visualizing the implant;
- determining the location of the implant within the patient;
- and
- treating tissue surrounding the tissue cavity with therapeutic energy sources.
A method for targeting and delivering therapeutic rays to a patient's soft tissue, comprising:
- (a) imaging an implanted device within soft tissue in the patient, the implanted device being substantially rigid, having a predetermined shape, and having a density that is lower than a density of the patient's soft tissue;
- (b) determining a region of target tissue surrounding the implanted device;
- (c) targeting an energy source from external to the patient to the target tissue;
- and
- (d) delivering the targeted energy dose.
A system for targeting energy sources to target tissue surrounding a tumor resection cavity comprising:
- an implantable device having a body;
- the body being substantially rigid and having a predetermined shape;
- the body further being bioabsorbable and having a density less than or equal to about 1.03 g/cc;
- wherein the implantable device can be implanted in a resected cavity in soft tissue and cause the cavity to conform to the predetermined shape, the implantable device further being imageable due to its density being less than that of soft tissue such that the boundaries of the tissue corresponding to the predetermined shape can be determined.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.