Development and pre-clinical test of a phosphorous-32 containing polyetheretherketone foil aiming at urethral stricture prevention by low-dose-rate brachytherapy.

Purpose: Primary or recurrent urethral stenoses are common clinical problems. The aim of this feasibility study was development and application test of a novel radioactive catheter for potential use in low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy to prevent urethral stenosis.

Material And Methods: A beta radiation emitting phosphorous-32 (P)-foil was developed and integrated in indwelling catheter, which is usually inserted after surgical intervention in the urethra.

[Implants with 32P-foils for LDR-brachytherapy of benign stenosis in urology and gastroenterology].

For LDR-brachytherapy, a limited number of implant geometries and materials are available. To avoid wound healing related hyper-proliferation (stenosis, keloids) a novel radioactive foil system was developed based on beta emitting (32)P, which can be easily integrated in existing implants such as urethral catheters or bile duct stents. As substrate material for these foils PEEK (polyetherethercetone) was chosen because of its radiation hardness during neutron activation of (32)P.