ABSTRACT
International Brachytherapy, sa (IBt) manufactures and markets world-wide two permanently implantable radiation sources, InterSource103 and InterSource125, utilizing palladium-103 and iodine-125, respectively* The unique hollow seed design provides a product line including individual loose seeds, seeds loaded in Mick™ cartridges, InterStrand103 and InterStrand125 seeds on a biodegradable suture at a standard 1 cm spacing, InterStrand Special™, in which seed spacing on the strand is customized to a doctor’s prescription, and EZ-Pak™, in which brachytherapy needles are preloaded to prescription, sterilized, and shipped ready to use. A cutaway view of the InterSource® brachytherapy source shows the hollow seed construction and the sealed toroidal space between the two titanium tubes comprising the capsule (Figure 42.1). The manufacture of tiny seeds with this complex geometry was made possible because of the invention and development of ink
jet printing of intensely radioactive liquids. The x-ray marker is a ring of platinum iridium. Iodine-125 sources are available from 0.2 mCi to 0.7 mCi (0.254-0.889 U) and palladium-103 sources are available from 0.5 mCi to 1.8 mCi (0.646-2.327 U).
