May 22, 2007 - The Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) recently announced it is the first facility in California and the second in the nation to offer SAVI, a single-entry, multi-catheter applicator that delivers partial breast irradiation, offering advanced treatment for breast cancer as part of breast conservation therapy.
BioLucent Inc.’s SAVI delivers a form of radiation therapy known as breast brachytherapy, which targets the tumor site from inside the breast. This approach is becoming a more widely used alternative to external-beam radiation and typically involves two treatments per day for five days.
The SAVI device's multicatheter design reportedly provides greater flexibility in delivering radiation, which may reduce radiation damage to the skin or chest wall.
The applicator is an expandable bundle of catheters, which the physician inserts in its collapsed position into the lumpectomy cavity through a small incision in the breast. The catheter bundle is then expanded, allowing the device to conform to the shape of the cavity.
