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Catheter assembly incorporating radiation shielding and related method of use
| Details |
Inventors: Peterson, Eric;
Assignee: Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA)
Primary Examiner: Lacyk; John P.
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Blakely, Sokoloff, Taylor & Zafman LLP
A radioactive catheter system, including a plurality of medical catheter assemblies, to irradiate patient's bodies having a variety of treatment requirements, configured to eliminate the need to maintain a selection of radiation source wires. The catheter assemblies each include a catheter that defines a lumen configured to receive a radiation source wire from an afterloader. Each catheter assembly includes at least one radiation shield configured and located to form a treatment region, so as to shield a portion of the radiation source from irradiating a patient's body. The radiation shield surrounds the lumen circumferentially over a first and second longitudinal portion of the catheter, forming a treatment window configured to only allow portions of the positioned radiation source longitudinally within the treatment window to primarily irradiate portions of the body. The radiation shield may comprise coils of radiation shielding material, or adjacent rings of radiation shielding material. The catheter assembly may include radial centering devices adjacent the radiation shield. The plurality of catheter assemblies include a plurality of different treatment regions to accommodate a variety of treatment requirements. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention provides a medical catheter assembly and a related method of using the catheter assembly.
A catheter assembly of the invention modifies the effective radioactive configuration of a radiation source when the radiation source is positioned within a patient's body.
The catheter assembly includes a catheter to be inserted into the patient's body.
The catheter defines a lumen configured to receive and position the radiation source within the patient's body.
A catheter assembly of the invention includes a means for modifying the effective radioactive configuration of the positioned radiation source.
The modifying means defines a treatment region.
More particularly, this modifying means may be a radiation shield shielding a portion of the lumen.
The radiation shield is configured and located to define the treatment region, modifying the effective radioactive configuration of the radiation source when it is positioned within the patient's body.
A method of irradiating a portion of a patient's body with a radiation source includes inserting a medical catheter assembly into the patient's body.
The catheter assembly includes a catheter defining a lumen and a radiation shield.
The method can also include positioning the radiation source into the catheter's lumen such that the radiation shield shields a portion of the body from the positioned radiation source.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrates, by way of example, the principals of the invention.
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