Innovation in Interventional Radiology

Abstract

From the days of Dotter, Interventional Radiology (IR) has been a specialty that has been steeped in innovation. We are a group of tinkerers, contrarians, and disruptors, constantly seeking out novel ways to solve problems and deliver less invasive, more effective, and more efficient care to our patients. We are a restless group, often referred to as “cowboys” as we have repeatedly challenged convention and employed cutting-edge technology to change the practice of medicine. As such, there has always been a fluid interaction between practitioners in IR and the industries that supply the tools of our trade. Indeed, many of the products we use have emerged from the creative energies of our own ranks, evidenced by the myriad catheters named eponymously for the physicians who conceived them. The symbiosis of clinician and industrialist—of clinical needs giving birth to new, groundbreaking technologies—is manifest in the close working relationship of Charles Dotter and Bill Cook, founder of Cook Medical, Inc.1Linton Otha Charles T. Dotter.J Am Coll Radiol. 2005; 2: 959-960Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (1) Google Scholar Our field of medicine emerged in large part because of their innovative collaboration. As regulation, time constraints, and the increasing demands of both clinical practice and product development increasingly place a barrier between interventional radiologists and the infrastructure that supplies our tools, it behooves us to take steps to reinsert ourselves into that infrastructure. As a specialty predicated on technology, we are nothing without our toys. The complexities of our practice, and the technology we employ, have multiplied manifold since those early days. At the same time, the process of bringing a technology to market has become far more time consuming, expensive, and cumbersome. Gone are the days of the tinkerer working alone in a dark garage. Todayʼs product development demands resources and expertise that far exceed any individualʼs abilities. As our specialty enters a new phase of expansion and maturation, fueled anew by the advents of clinical IR and the integrated residency, it is imperative that we understand and participate actively in this process, and that we train for it. This issue is intended as a primer for the interventional radiologist who strives also to wear the hat of the innovator, which I hope describes most of us. Innovation, like IR, is a set of skills that can be learned, refined, and enhanced. Much like the practice of IR, learning the process of innovation requires dedication, time, and a willingness to fail and learn from one׳s own mistakes. The authors of the articles that follow have spent decades putting these principles into practice, and have tremendous insight to share. As a primer, this issue will hopefully provide the reader with these insights and a little bit of direction. It is by no means comprehensive, but I hope that it will inform and inspire many of us to take a crack at blazing new trails that will ensure a bright and prosperous future for all of us “cowboys”.