Kenneth W Weeks

US Patent:

50123572, Apr 30, 1991

Filed:

Mar 20, 1989

Appl. No.:

7/325604

Inventors:

Sonja L. Schoeppel - Whitmore Lake MI
Kenneth J. Weeks - Chapel Hill NC
Kent R. Pruss - Ann Arbor MI

Assignee:

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor MI

International Classification:

A61N 510

US Classification:

378 65

Abstract:

A system for providing therapeutic radiation to a predetermined tissue region within a body cavity of a living being utilizes an applicator arrangement which may, in a specific embodiment, comprise a pair of colpostats in conjunction with a tandem. The colpostats and tandem are formed of a material which is transparent to an imaging modality, such as CT scanning. Imaging-transparent source carriers containing dummy, or test, sources are placed in the colpostats. After the location of the colpostats, for example, has been determined, by imaging, the dummy source carriers are removed therefrom and replaced with selected source carriers containing actual radiation sources. The radiation source carriers further contain shielding which controls the strength and radiation pattern of the emitted radiation, all of which may be selected in response to the image. In a preferred embodiment, the dummy source carriers are provided with markings thereon which are opaque to imaging, so that the position and orientation of the source carriers with respect to the tissue region to be irradiated can be determined from the images. In an additional preferred embodiment wherein two colpostats are employed, certain ones of the source carriers are configured to be employed only with certain ones of the colpostats and/or visual markers are provided on the source carriers and the colpostats to avoid inadvertent misplacement.