Automated system for the radiation treatment of a desired area within the body of a patient

Abstract

A system comprising a microprocessor-controlled transfer device and a separate catheter for intraluminal treatment of a selected site in a body of a patient by at least one treating element advanced from a removable treating element cartridge received in the transfer device into a lumen of the separate catheter by means of pressurized fluid controlled by a fluid control switch moveable between send and return positions. A safety interlock is provided for preventing both (1) the disassembly of the system unless the treating element resides in the treating element cartridge and (2) the actuation of the fluid control switch unless the system is assembled. The safety interlock comprises a first lock moveable from a first position to a second position only if both the catheter and the treating element cartridge are secured to the transfer device. The first lock blocks the movement of the fluid control switch to the send position when in its first position and prevents disassembly of either the catheter or the treating element cartridge from the transfer device when in its second position. The fluid control switch further locks the first lock into its second position when the fluid control switch is in the send position. A system is also provided for detecting whether the treating element resides at a targeted location along the lumen of the transfer device. The detection system comprises a pressure transducer that is in fluid communication with the lumen of the transfer device so as to be capable of measuring the fluid pressure at the targeted location of the lumen. Circuitry is provided for comparing the measured presssure to a reference pressure corresponding to the pressure at the targeted location when the treating elements are stored at the targeted location under fluid pressure. A signal generator provides a signal when the measured pressure differs from the reference pressure by more than a predetermined amount. The signal may activate an optical signal and/or a mechanical interlock, the latter preventing separation of the catheter from the transfer device and preventing closure of the gate when activated by a signal from the signal generator corresponding to the pressure encountered when the treating element does not reside at the targeted location.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.