This lecture provided an overview of radiation physics, experimental results, recent major clinical trial results, and the major issues facing this fast moving field.
Radiation is also useful in treating benign vascular malformations.
Radiation can impair smooth muscle cell function, which is perhaps one of the most important cellular elements leading to restenosis. Ir92 is a gamma emitter and the other two are beta emitters, which may have some clinical importance. They have significantly varying half-lives. Gamma Ir92, essentially the only gamma source used for intravascular radiation for restenosis, has a half-life of 74 days. Phosphorous has a 14 day half-life.