| abstract |
An over-the-wire catheter provides substantially shadow-free delivery of radiation to a body lumen by having a treatment region wherein a guidewire tube and a radiation source tube form a parallel double helix configuration. When a radiation source is inserted into the radiation source tube and a guidewire is present in the guidewire tube, no portion of the treatment site will be obscured from all radiation emitted by the radiation source because, within the treatment region, the guidewire and the radiation source are not in a conventional, axially parallel configuration. Optionally, a balloon may be mounted about or adjacent the treatment region of the catheter, the balloon providing centering and/or dilatation functions. |