Minimally invasive medical device for providing a radiation treatment

Abstract

A minimally invasive intravascular medical device for providing a radiation treatment in a body passageway such as a coronary vessel of the vascular system. The device includes a flexible elongated member having distal and proximal portions. The distal portion is percutaneously insertable into a vessel and includes a distal end that is directable through the vessel to the treatment site. A radiation source is attached about the distal portion for delivering a radiation treatment to the walls a vessel having a stent positioned thereagainst. The distal portion of the elongated member includes a wire coil positioned about the tapered distal end of a mandril wire. The combination of the wire coil and the tapered distal end of the mandril wire provides variable flexibility to the distal portion of the device. The distal portion also has a predetermined curvature for directing the distal end of the device through the vessel. A safety wire is also extendable through the passageway of the wire coil to provide further flexibility to the distal portion. The radiation source is fixedly positioned about either the tapered distal end of the mandril wire or the safety wire in the passageway of the wire coil. An annular recess is included about the tapered distal end of the mandril wire to fixedly position a source of radioactive material therein.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.