Apparatus for internal irradiation

Apparatus for internal irradiation, comprising a plurality of neutral balls, a plurality of radioactive balls, a first storage container for said neutral balls, a second storage container for said radio-active balls, said neutral balls having the same diameter as said radio-active balls, valve means connecting each of said storage containers with a distributor for composing a contiguous ball row out of the said neutral and radio-active balls, an applicator tube adapted to be introduced into a body cavity and provided with an internal channel having a narrow end portion passing through a shoulder into the remaining wider portion of said internal channel, said narrow end portion having substantially the same length as said ball row and being adapted to admit the same, a final ball having a larger diameter than the said radio-active and neutral balls, so that it is not admitted to said narrow end portion, intermediate container means in said distributor for adding said final ball to said ball row at the end thereof, pneumatic means for transferring said ball row and said added final ball from said intermediate container means to said applicator tube in such manner that said added final ball is arrested by the shoulder and is pressed against said shoulder so as to keep the balls of said ball row in the right places during the irradiation, said pneumatic means being further used to return said ball row and said final ball to said intermediate container means after the termination of the irradiation and to return the balls of said ball row to their storage containers, an adjustable pressure switch connected to the wider portion of said applicator tube, said pressure switch determining whether pneumatic pressure is sufficient to keep the associated final ball pressed against the associated shoulder.

Apparatus for internal irradiation, comprising a plurality of neutral balls, a plurality of radioactive balls, said neutral balls having the same diameter as said radio-active balls, a distributor for composing contiguous ball rows out of the said neutral and radio-active balls, a plurality of applicator tubes each adapted to be introduced into a body cavity and each provided with an internal channel having a narrow end portion passing through a shoulder into the remaining wider portion of said internal channel, said narrow end portion having substantially the same length as the said ball rows and being adapted to admit the same, a plurality of final balls having a larger diameter than the said radio-active and neutral balls, so that they are not admitted by the said narrow end portions, intermediate container means in said distributor for adding one of the said final balls to each of the said ball rows at the end thereof, pneumatic means for transferring each of the said ball rows and the added final ball from said intermediate container means to one of said applicator tubes in such manner that the added final ball is arrested by the shoulder and is pressed against said shoulder so as to keep the balls of the associated ball row in the right places during the irradiation, said pneumatic means being further used to return each ball row and the added final ball to said intermediate container means after the termination of the irradiation, an adjustable pressure switch connected to the wider portion of said applicator tube, said pressure switch determining whether pneumatic pressure is sufficient to keep the associated final ball pressed against the associated shoulder.

Apparatus for internal irradiation, comprising a plurality of neutral balls, a plurality of radio-active balls, a first storage container for said neutral balls, a second storage container for said radio-active balls, said neutral balls having the same diameter as said radio-active balls, valve means connecting each of said storage containers with a distributor for composing contiguous ball rows out of the said neutral and radio-active balls, a plurality of applicator tubes each adapted to be introduced into a body cavity and each provided with an internal channel having a narrow end portion passing through a shoulder into the remaining wider portion of said internal channel, said narrow end portion having substantially the same length as the said ball rows and being adapted to admit the same, a plurality of final balls having a larger diameter than the said radio-active and neutral balls, so that they are not admitted by the said narrow end portions, intermediate container means in said distributor for adding one of the said final balls to each of the said ball rows at the end thereof, pneumatic means for transferring each of the said ball rows and the added final ball from said intermediate container means to one of said applicator tubes in such manner that the added final ball is arrested by the shoulder and is pressed against said shoulder so as to keep the balls of the associated ball row in the right places during the irradiation, said pneumatic means being further used to return each ball row and the added final ball to said intermediate container means after the termination of the irradiation and to return the balls of each ball row to their storage containers, an adjustable pressure switch connected to the wider portion of said applicator tube, said pressure switch determining whether pneumatic pressure is sufficient to keep the associated final ball pressed against the associated shoulder.