| abstract |
A minimally invasive medical device (10, 23, 31, 40, 41, 46, 49) for providing a selected and controlled radiation dosage to the vascular system of a patient. The device includes an outer sheath (15) with an inner elongated member (55) slidably disposed in the passage (59) of the outer sheath. The inner elongated member has an expandable distal portion (11) of spring wires (12, 13) looped about a distal end 14 of the inner elongated member. The inner elongated member also includes a proximal portion (17) extending from the proximal end (58) of the outer sheath for extending and withdrawing the expandable distal portion from the distal end (56) of the outer sheath. The spring wires of the expandable distal portion include a radiation source (18) alloyed with or disposed around the spring wires. The inner elongated member also alternatively includes a catheter (60) with an inflatable balloon (38) forming the expandable distal portion thereof. |