As more and more doctors began to treat patients with radium, it gave rise to a new medical-products industry. Twenty years after the Abbes had conducted their first experiments on themselves and on patients, the basic methodology of radium treatment had not really changed.  Treatment still consisted of placing radium in close proximity to a diseased area, leaving it there for an extended period of time, and then retrieving the sample for later use. The apparatus used for handling the radium had grown much more sophisticated.

The pamphlet to the right (click to enlarge; for entire pamphlet, view full record) shows several of the innovations that made it easier for doctors to use radium with patients. The radium salt was still stored in tiny glass tubes, as shown in the upper left-hand corner of the page. These were often referred to as "seeds." Rather than using the seeds on their own, a physician would purchase one of the wide variety of housings shown on the other pages of the pamphlet. Each housing had its own advantages and uses. Metal capsules were intended to "screen" the radium sample, blocking its alpha radiation output while allowing the more penetrating beta and gamma rays through. Note the screw eye on the end of each capsule. Sometimes these were used for retrieval, with the physician leaving a silk string dangling from the end of the capsule. In other cases, a line attached to the capsule would be used to sew the capsule in place for multi-day exposures.

Needle-type housings, like those shown in the center section of the pamphlet, offered another approach to keeping the radium sample in place. A doctor could stick the needle directly into the tumor or other treatment area, exposing more of the radiation-emitting sample's surface area to the diseased tissue. The needles, like the capsules, featured various aids to use and retrieval. In addition to screw eyes, needles could be fitted with extra long shafts or affixed to flexible cables, like the one shown in the bottom right-hand corner, for threading deeper into the body.