Patent ID: 7150709
Filing Date: 2006-12-19
Classification: A61N

Abstract:
1. A wax-less implant system for deploying seeds and spacers in tissue, comprising: an elongate seeding needle; said elongate seeding needle having a lumen adapted to slidingly receive therein a string of seeds and spacers; a dimple formed in said elongate seeding needle near a distal end thereof; a protuberance that extends into said lumen, said protuberance created by said dimple; said protuberance having a leading end positioned near said distal end of said elongate seeding needle and having a trailing end spaced proximal to said leading end by a distance equal to the length of said dimple; a hollow housing formed of a flexible and resilient material being positioned within said lumen in abutting relation to said trailing end of said protuberance; said hollow housing having an external diameter only slightly less than a diameter of said lumen so that said hollow housing cannot slide past said protuberance under gravitational force; said hollow housing having an internal diameter adapted to slidingly receive a seed or spacer positioned at a leading end of a string of seeds and spacers; said flexible and resilient material from which said hollow housing is made being momentarily deformable so that said hollow housing may squeeze past said protuberance when a stylet is maintained in a fixed position in abutting relation to a trailing end of said seeds and spacers when said elongate seeding needle is withdrawn.