Patent ID: 6656106
Filing Date: 2003-12-02
Classification: A61M,A61N

Abstract:
An assembly that enables the counting of the seeds and spacers in a brachytherapy needle, comprising:a needle having a sharp distal end and a lumen adapted to slidingly receive therein a plurality of radioactive seeds and spacers; an adapter means of hollow construction secured to a proximal end of said needle; a tube having a distal end received within a hollow interior of said adapter; a hub means for aligning a lumen of said tube with the lumen of said needle; a plunger rod adapted to be slideably received within said tube; said tube formed of a material that is sufficiently translucent to enable visual inspection of said lumen of said tube; said lumen of said tube having substantially the same diameter as the lumen of said needle so that when said assembly is positioned with the distal end of said needle pointing upwardly, the seeds and spacers within said lumen of said needle slide under the influence of gravity into the lumen of said tube so that the number of said seeds and spacers may be visually ascertained.