The 376-page collection, guest-edited by John F. Cardella, M.D., FSIR, includes quality improvement guidelines, safety guidelines new from 2003, consensus documents, credentialing statements, policy and position statements and technology assessment documents. One new feature added since the 2003 supplement is emerging technologies articles; these state-of-the-art works are written by thought leaders in emerging topics, such as nanotechnology, genetic therapy and digital detectors in computed tomography. Also included are position statements, defining not only SIR's position on a new technique or procedure, but also the societal position on such topics as the role of clinical associates in interventional radiology. There are several such collaborative documents with like-minded societies, adding strength to the collection, said Nemcek.

In the supplement's introduction, Cardella and his collaborating colleagues, Sanjoy Kundu, M.D., FSIR; Donald L. Miller, M.D., FSIR; Steven F. Millward, M.D., FSIR; and David Sacks, M.D., FSIR, offer the hope that "....these documents help you in optimizing the quality of care for patients, assuring consistency and comparability in the publication of clinical and basic science research, establishing quality assurance programs with action thresholds, and learning about 'new topics on the horizon' for interventional
radiology."

The Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, can be viewed online at www.jvir.org. More information about the Society of Interventional Radiology, interventional radiologists and how to find an interventional radiologist in your area can be found online at www.SIRweb.org.


About the Society of Interventional Radiology

Interventional radiologists are physicians who specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments. They offer the most in-depth knowledge of the least invasive treatments available coupled with diagnostic and clinical experience across all specialties. They use X-ray, MRI and other imaging to advance a catheter in the body, such as in an artery, to treat at the source of the disease internally. As the inventors of angioplasty and the catheter-delivered stent, which were first used in the legs to treat peripheral arterial disease, interventional radiologists pioneered minimally invasive modern medicine. Today, interventional oncology is a growing specialty area of interventional radiology. Interventional radiologists can deliver treatments for cancer directly to the tumor without significant side effects or damage to nearby normal tissue.

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