University College Hospital Galway in Ireland has begun use of a computer-controlled GammaMed brachytherapy afterloader from Varian Medical Systems, together with the company's balloon-guided intra-cavitary device called the MammoSite Radiation Therapy System, the company said.

 Partial breast irradiation involves delivering radiation directly to the tissue immediately surrounding a surgically removed tumor, where cancer is most likely to recur, while minimizing the radiation exposure to healthy tissue. Using this approach, a full course of treatment can be carried out in just five days.