Patent ID: 7862496

Claim:
A brachytherapy treatment apparatus for treating tissue surrounding a cavity within a body, comprising: an elongate body comprising a proximal end and a distal end configured for introduction into a tract through tissue, the elongate body comprising a core member and a body member, the core member and body member comprising mating threads for causing the body member to move axially relative to the core member when the body member is rotated relative to the core member; a plurality of elongate members on the distal end comprising pathways for receiving a source of radiation therealong, the elongate members including distal ends coupled to the core member and proximal ends coupled to the body member, the elongate members being movable from a collapsed configuration for introduction through a tissue tract to a target location, and an expanded configuration for providing a three dimensional array of pathways at the target location; a source of radiation introduceable along the pathways for delivering radiation to the target location; and an actuator coupled to one of the core member and body member, the actuator rotatable in a first direction for moving the body member axially relative to the core member to move the elongate members from the collapsed configuration to the expanded configuration and rotatable in a second opposite direction to move the elongate members from the expanded configuration to the collapsed configuration, at least a portion of the actuator being detachable from the elongate body to reduce a profile of the brachytherapy delivery apparatus after implantation, the detachable portion and the elongate body comprising releasable connectors for allowing the detachable portion to be removed after implantation.