Stereotactic radiotreatment and prevention
First Claim
1. A method of therapeutic treatment of a body passageway, comprising the steps of:
- (a) implanting a marker in the passageway;
(b) imaging the passageway, wherein the marker has been implanted, from two angles thereby providing, at each of these angles, at least one image of said marker and surrounding tissue;
(c) identifying said marker in said images; and
(d) irradiating said marker from outside said passageway.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for dynamic stereotactic radiotreatment and prevention of restenosis. A stent is implanted in a coronary artery, following percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. Subsequent restenosis is minimized by external irradiation of the stent by ionizing radiation such as gamma rays. The fact that the stent is significantly more opaque to x-rays than the surrounding tissue is exploited to track the stent using fluoroscopy, so that the ionizing radiation can be aimed accurately at the stent. Preferably, the fluoroscopic imaging and the irradiation of the stent are synchronized with the patient'"'"'s cardiac cycle. The external irradiation may be performed hours or days after implanting the stent, for prevention of restenosis, or weeks or months after implanting the stent, for treatment of restenosis, and may be fractionated.
-
Citations
13 Claims
-
1. A method of therapeutic treatment of a body passageway, comprising the steps of:
-
(a) implanting a marker in the passageway; (b) imaging the passageway, wherein the marker has been implanted, from two angles thereby providing, at each of these angles, at least one image of said marker and surrounding tissue; (c) identifying said marker in said images; and (d) irradiating said marker from outside said passageway. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
Specification