Radiotherapy stent
OwnerMichael Haymaninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A radiotherapy stent device has a flexible, collapsible mesh body that can be expanded in a blood vessel of a patient to deliver radiation to the tissue surrounding the site of stent implantation. One or more hollow sleeves are secured on the body. The sleeves are loaded with radioactive material immediately prior to positioning of the stent in the vascular structure. As a result, the shelf life of the stent is substantially increased, and dosage of the radiation can be more precisely controlled.
Claims17
An intra-arterial stent device, comprising:
- a stent assembly comprised of a stent body adapted to engage a wall of a blood vessel, said stent body being transparent to fluid flow and at least one hollow non-fenestrated sleeve attached to an exterior wall of the stent body, said at least one sleeve extending along substantially entire length of the stent body in parallel relationship to a longitudinal axis of the stent body after the stent assembly has been positioned in the blood vessel;
- and
- a source of radioactive members adapted for loading into said at least one sleeve immediately prior to inserting said stent assembly into the blood vessel.
A device for preventing restenosis of a blood vessel following an angioplasty procedure, the device comprising:
- a stent assembly adapted for positioning in a desired location within the blood vessel, said stent assembly comprising an expandable mesh body, at least one flexible hollow non-fenestrated sleeve secured to said mesh body and a radioactive member adapted for positioning inside said at least one sleeve immediately prior to inserting said mesh body with said at least one sleeve in the blood vessel.
A method of delivering radioactive energy to a vascular structure of a patient, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing a stent assembly having a mesh body, a hollow non-fenestrated sleeve attached to said body and a radioactive member;
- loading said radioactive member into said sleeve;
- and
- immediately inserting said stent assembly into the patient's vascular structure.
A stent assembly for positioning in a blood vessel comprising:
- an expandable mesh body;
- at least one flexible hollow non-fenestrated sleeve with an open end secured to said mesh body, a radioactive member adapted for positioning inside said at least one sleeve through said open end immediately prior to inserting said mesh body with said at least one sleeve in the blood vessel, and a means for retaining said radioactive member inside said sleeve.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.