| 摘要 |
Spacers for use in brachytherapy, radiotherapy, and other medical therapy, which can be used to improve a patient's outcome, assist in treating difficult cases and/or combine multiple modalities that are currently performed separately into a single procedure. In accordance with an embodiment, a spacer is formed of an encapsulating material in a generally cylindrical or elongated shape. One or more regions are formed within the spacer for receiving and retaining therapeutic loads, such as radiation sources and/or pharmaceutical therapeutic loads, and/or any other substances that a physician might select to treat a patient, such as drug liquids, powder or particles (e.g., microparticles or nanoparticles), with the particles or powders combined with binders, such as polyacrylamide, that are selected to retain and gradually disperse the powder or particles at a desired rate. Such regions can be formed at various locations within the spacer, and can have various shapes depending on the particular design and intended usage, including, for example, bores, end cavities, wells, ports, slots and/or pockets. The outer surface of the encapsulating material can optionally include one or more fins, ribs or other physical protuberances or features that improve the fixity of the spacer when implanted within a patient's body. When implanted into the body, the spacer helps provide proper placement and spacing such as symmetrical and/or asymmetrical placement and spacing of the radiation sources and/or pharmaceutical therapeutic loads.
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