IsoRay, Inc., through its subsidiary, IsoRay Medical, Inc., engages in the development, production, and marketing of brachytherapy seeds for the treatment of prostrate cancer and other solid cancer tumors. Brachytherapy seeds are small devices used in an internal radiation therapy procedure. The Cesium-131, a brachytherapy seed, offers a significantly shorter half-life than the two other isotopes, Palladium-103 and Iodine-125, which are used for brachytherapy. The characteristics of Cesium-131 isotope include decrease in radiation exposure to the patient, and reduce the severity and duration of side effects, while treating cancer cells. Cesium-131 might also enable meaningful penetration in other solid tumor applications, such as breast, lung, liver, brain, and pancreatic cancer. The company also offers Yttrium-90, which is a short-lived radioisotope used in the treatment of nonHodgkin's lymphoma and is in clinical trials for other applications. IsoRay was formed in 1998 and is based in Richland, Washington.