A protected loading device for thin 192 Ir wires.

Abstract

192Ir wire sources are increasingly used in various centres for interstitial radiotherapy, the advantages of flexibility and of afterloading removing some of the disadvantages of the use of radium needles (Pierquin 1964; Pierquin, Chassagne and Cox 1971; Paine 1972). One of the difficulties experienced by users of the thinner (0·3 mm diameter) wires has been the problem of loading so thin a wire under protected conditions into the plastic tubing in which it is handled by the Radiotherapist when current techniques are used. This tubing has an outside diameter of 1 mm and internal diameter of 0·5 mm and is thus too thin for the manoeuvre to be safely accomplished in a reasonably short time by eye with the use of long forceps. It is also necessary to place a small constriction or seal in the tubing at either end of the active wire so as to prevent it from slipping along the tubing during manipulation of the tubing into the patient. Most centres using these techniques have found it necessary to evolve some ki...