| 摘要 |
A radiation delivery system having an expandable radiation source made of a pliable material. The source body is made of a material such as a foam or sponge, or a fibrous material such as the soft bristles of a pipe cleaner. The spongy or fibrous material is made radioactive by the implantation of a radioactive isotope. The radioactive isotope can be located throughout the pliable source material, or concentrated in a desired region, such as the surface or near-surface region. This compressible radioactive source material, when constrained by a constraining housing or a catheter, has a very low profile. However, when the constraining housing or catheter is withdrawn, the expandable source material expands and fills the surrounding space, such as a blood vessel lumen. In this way, the radioactivity, impregnated in the expandable source material, is brought into direct contact with the vessel wall.
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