Interventional Radiology: From Idea to Device to Patient

This 1963 quote is from Dr. Charles Dotter, the man who is widely regarded as the father of interventional radiology. In addition to being used profusely in journals and textbooks of interventional medicine, this citation succeeds in capturing the essential elements that constitute modern interventional radiology (IR): firstly, the use of the words "vascular catheter" reaffirms IR as a technique-based specialty of medicine where instruments and new technologies play a crucial role; secondly, this quote foresees that angiographic catheterization will evolve from a purely diagnostic science towards a means of delivering treatment; lastly, the word "imagination" constitutes Dotter's appeal to physicians to find newer, more innovative ways of putting imaging and image-guided therapy at the service of the patient. Over the past forty years, the scope of IR has grown incessantly to encompass all the major organ systems, while interventional radiologists continue to prove that they are among the most versatile and inventive medical specialists. Because they can be visualized precisely and instantly using modern imaging techniques and explored with increasingly sophisticated probes, blood vessels constitute ideal roads for interventionists to reach sites of pathology all over the human body. In the present article, we will try to illustrate some of the key procedures of IR through a rapid overview of angioplasty and embolotherapy. Moreover, the contribution of IR to patient management, treatment and care will be discussed through a case history.