From left to right: Shirin A. Enger (Assistant Professor) and Joseph DeCunha (BSc Student)
Intravascular brachytherapy is a means of treating restenosis after an angioplasty and stent insertion. Angioplasty and stent insertion can provoke an inflammatory response in the treated vessel which causes the rapid proliferation of neotintimal (scar) tissue. By eliminating neointimal tissue, intravascular brachytherapy allows treated vessels to maintain a healthy diameter. In recent years intravascular brachytherapy has seen reduced use, in favour of drug eluting stents. However, a demand for intravascular brachytherapy continues to exist in patients for whom drug eluting stents have been unsuccessful.
Beta sources are typically used in intravascular brachytherapy to reduce the need for radiation shielding in catheterization labs and to reduce the dose delivered to healthy tissues of the patient. Beta sources have high dose gradients that are affected by the presence of heterogeneities. Arterial plaques, stents, and guidewires have been shown to reduce the dose delivered to target volume from beta sources in intravascular brachytherapy. Our work allows for an understanding of the dosimetric shortcomings of commercially available intravascular brachytherapy delivery systems.
Peer reviewed publications and conference presentations
2017
Journal publications
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DeCunha J, Janicki C, Enger SA, A retrospective analysis of catheter-based sources in intravascular brachytherapy. Brachytherapy, 16(3):586-596 (2017).
Conference presentations
Oral presentations
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DeCunha J, Enger SA, Resolving dosimetric issues in intravascular brachytherapy. Medical Physics, 44 (8):32 (2017).
Poster presentations
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DeCunha J, Enger SA, Investigation of a New Device to Improve Dosimetric Outcomes in Intravascular Brachytherapy. Brachytherapy, 16 (3):S80 (2017).