Back to results
US 4,815,449 AGranted
Delivery system for interstitial radiation therapy including substantially non-deflecting elongated member
OwnerBruce S. Horowitzinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A delivery system for interstitial radiation therapy comprising a substantially non-deflecting elongated member of material which is absorbable in living tissue and a plurality of radioactive seeds dispersed in a predetermined array within the member. In one form, the member comprises an elongated member having the seeds longitudinally spaced therein and forming a needle that can be inserted in the tumor to be treated.
Claims6
A delivery system for interstitial radiation therapy comprising:
- an integral elongated member made from a material which is absorbable in living tissue, said member having a length substantially greater than its width, and a plurality of radioactive sources predeterminedly dispersed longitudinally in said member, said member having sufficient rigidity to be driven into a tumor without deflection to provide for controlled and precise placement of the radioactive sources in the tumor, said integral elongated member comprising:
- a tapered tip at one end thereof;
- and,
- a plurality of visibly identifiable and physically defined segments, a subgroup of said plurality of segments encasing said plurality of radioactive sources, each segment of said subgroup containing a corresponding radioactive source of said plurality of radioactive sources, said plurality of segments defining said integral elongated member with said tip at one end of said member.
1 more element
The delivery system for interstitial radiation therapy comprising:
- an elongated member made from a material which is absorbable in living tissue, said member having a length substantially greater than its width, and a plurality of discrete radioactive sources predeterminedly dispersed along the length of said member, said elongated member having sufficient rigidity to be driven into a tumor without deflection to provide for controlled and precise placement of the discrete radioactive sources in the tumor wherein said elongated member comprises a hollow tube of absorbable material having said plurality of discrete radioactive sources dispersed therein and longitudinally spaced therealong by a plurality of spacers of absorbable material disposed in said tube between one or more of said plurality of discrete radioactive sources to obtained a fixed linear positioning of all of said plurality of radioactive sources wherein said tube has a characteristic that maintains the tube's integrity and the fixed linear positioning at said plurality of radioactive sources for a first predetermined period of time subsequent to an implantation into said living tissue and wherein said tube has a further characteristic such that the tube is substantially absorbed by said living tissue over a second predetermined period of time that is longer than said first predetermined period of time.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.