| abstract |
Disclosed is a stent delivery catheter system for placing a radioactive stent within a blockage in a vessel of a human body. The stent delivery catheter system consists of a radioactive stent that is placed onto an angioplasty balloon that is located at the distal portion of a stent delivery catheter. Just proximal and just distal to the stent there is a proximal radioactive band and a distal radioactive band, respectively, each of which are generally thin walled and cylindrical. The radioactive stent located on the balloon at the distal portion of the stent delivery catheter is advanced over a flexible guide wire until the non-deployed radioactive stent is placed at the site of a vessel blockage such as an arterial stenosis. The balloon is inflated and the radioactive stent and the distal and proximal radioactive bands are pushed radially outward in apposition to the wall of the artery, resulting in dilatation of the stenosis. The balloon remains expanded for several minutes, which maintains the proximal radioactive band and the distal radioactive band against the artery wall at positions that are just proximal and just distal to the edges of the stent. By this means, the regions of the vessel wall that are just proximal and just distal to the edges of the stent experience a sufficient dose of radiation so that the cells in that region become incapable of producing growth factor. |