Here is some info I found on HDR Brachytherapy:
"Because brachytherapy requires numerous safety precautions and entails unnecessary exposure of personnel and family members to radiation, remote afterloading of temporary implants has become popular in recent years. The two types of remote afterloading that can be used for treatment are LDR and HDR sources. The most popular LDR source used today is Cs-137, which has a dose rate of about 1 cGy/min. The most widely used HDR source is Ir-192. This isotope has a dose rate of about 100 cGy/min."
"General procedures The pretreatment brachytherapy procedures outlined above are also implemented in remote afterloading brachytherapy. Once the treatment plan has been approved by the physician, the patient is brought into the treatment room. The LDR cesium source or HDR iridium source is connected to the end of a cable inside its respective afterloading unit. This unit is programmed with the data from the planning computer. The cable is sent out from the unit into one of the patient's catheters. Several catheters can be connected to the unit. Each catheter is irradiated, one at a time, until the prescribed dose has been delivered."
"The motor that drives the source out of the treatment unit is connected electronically to the door of the treatment room. If the treatment must be stopped for any reason, simply opening the door triggers an interlock that draws the source back into the unit. Because of this device, oncology personnel will not be exposed to any radiation should they need to see the patient during treatment. This interlock is the main safety advantage of remote afterloading over manual afterloading."
"LDR treatment Uterine cancer is the most popular site for intracavitary treatment with LDR remote afterloading brachytherapy. All LDR procedures are performed in the patient's room. The interlock is connected to the patient's door so that nurses can take vital signs and give medication and family members can visit the patient without risk of radiation exposure."
"HDR treatment The most common applications of HDR brachytherapy include sarcomas and tumors of the vaginal apex, esophagus and lung. Most HDR treatments are performed on an outpatient basis. Allowing the patient to return home the same day after therapy is one advantage of HDR afterloading brachytherapy. Patients with prostate cancer are the exception. They remain in the hospital for 2-3 days during the treatment."
"No Side Effects With HDR
It is like a light switch being flicked on and off. After the treatment, the system returns the radioactive source into the protective storage unit of the remote afterloading machine. Patients experience no side effects such as nausea, alopecia, or diarrhea following the HDR treatment. They are not radioactive during or after the treatment. Recovery time is minimal, and the need for a prolonged hospital stay is eliminated. Since the treatment time is measured in minutes rather than days, little opportunity exists for the implant to move and emit radiation where it was not intended."
"The sophisticated treatment device is monitored by an experienced medical physicist specializing in HDR procedures. The patient's treatment is designed by an advanced computer-based treatment planning system. This integrated system gives the facility's medical director complete control throughout the procedure. The integrated modular system is quickly set up and tested in the facility's vault, reducing the time patients must wait to be treated."
Cynthia
