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Interventional Radiology: A Web Review
Review Article
Interventional Radiology: A Web Review Sriharsha Athreya, MS, FRCS, FRCR, Navin Mathias, FRCS, FRCR, and Iain Roberston, FRCR There is a wealth of information available on the World Wide Web relating to interventional radiology. The authors reviewed resources that may be pertinent to trainees at all stages, interventional radiology specialists, physicians in other specialties, and patients. J Vasc Interv Radiol 2008; 19:779 –781 Abbreviations:
BSIR ⫽ British Society of Interventional Radiology, CIRSE ⫽ Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Society of Europe
THERE is a wealth of information available on the World Wide Web relating to interventional radiology. Herein, we review resources that may be pertinent to trainees at all stages, interventional radiology specialists, physicians in other specialties, and patients. The goal of the review is to provide a readily accessible summary of internet sites relating to interventional radiology, including resources relating to education, training and curricula, and international societies and/or organizations. The available resources on interventional radiology were identified by using Web-based popular search engines. The Web-based resources were selected to include popular sites across different regions in the world and on the basis of the quality of information available on these sites.
GENERAL WEB SITES: INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR): www.SIRweb.org The SIR is a professional society for physicians who specialize in inFrom the Department of Radiology, Gartnavel General Hospital, Great Western Rd, Glasgow, G12 0YN United Kingdom. Received November 17, 2007; final revision received January 30, 2008; accepted February 4, 2008. Address correspondence to S.A.; E-mail: [email protected] None of the authors have identified a conflict of interest. © SIR, 2008 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvir.2008.02.005
terventional or minimally invasive procedures. It has sections about clinical practice guidelines, general information for patients and doctors, information about its annual meeting and worldwide meetings on interventional radiology, the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, jobs, etc. In addition, it has a membership directory and listing of fellowships. It also has downloadable lectures about interventional radiology topics. Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Society of Europe (CIRSE): www.cirse.org The CIRSE and the European School of Interventional Radiology are the European equivalent of the SIR. The Web site contains excellent information about interventional radiology, the various procedures performed, quality standards, radiation protection in interventional radiology, and its annual meeting. The European School of Interventional Radiology also conducts regular courses on interventional radiology for basic and advanced practitioners. The CIRSE has initiated and established E3IR—Electronic Education Excellence in Interventional Radiology—an online tool that enables those interested to benefit, once more, from the educational material from previous CIRSE meetings, Europe’s leading congress in interventional radiology.
British Society of Interventional Radiology (BSIR): www.bsir.org The BSIR has an excellent concise Web site including information about interventional radiology, its annual meeting, training (junior members’ forum), education (including a list of interesting cases), clinical governance, bursaries, registries, and research. Interventional Radiology Society of Australia and New Zealand: http:// www.ranzcr.edu.au/affiliatedgroups/ irsa/index.cfm The Interventional Radiology Society of Australia is affiliated with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiology. It lists the minimum requirements for accreditation in interventional radiology in Australia and New Zealand and also lists the hospitals accredited for such training. Canadian Interventional Radiology Association: http://www.car.ca/cira/ home.html This site has good links to detailed information about various interventional radiology procedures (grand rounds in interventional radiology), including central venous access, preservation of hemodialysis access, peripheral arterial disease, interventional treatment options for peripheral arterial disease, renovascular hypertension, stent-grafts for repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms, new treatment option for deep venous thrombosis, uter-
779
780
•
Interventional Radiology: A Web Review
May 2008
JVIR
ine fibroid embolization, and the treatment of peripheral vascular disease.
E-Medicine: http://www. emedicine.com/radio/ VASCULARINTERVENTIONAL.htm
and carotid artery angioplasty and stent placement.
INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY TEACHING RESOURCES
This Web site from WebMD has more than 40 well-written, peer-reviewed articles about all aspects of interventional radiology—from aortic aneurysms to vertebroplasty. This is an excellent resource, with comprehensive articles and good-quality images and references at the end.
Radiology Education: http://www. radiologyeducation.com/
Aunt Minnie: www.auntminnie.com Aunt Minnie is a well-known comprehensive radiology Web site that requires registration to access the content, which is free. With regard to interventional radiology, there are links to news articles in the media and journals, an e-library with reference texts, a case of the day section that is indexed to provide a list of all cases with interventional content, a Continuing Medical Education database, a list of all upcoming conferences and meetings, searchable job listings (with bias to those in the United States), a general radiologist and resident forum, and a media section. European Association of Radiology E-learning Initiative: http://www. eurorad.org/ This is an excellent peer-reviewed database of radiology in general, with many illustrated interventional radiology cases—all illustrated, including normal procedures. This Web site requires payment for registration. University Hospital of Cleveland: http://www.uhrad.com/INTARC. HTM The University Hospital of Cleveland and Rainbow Children’s Hospital Web site has a section about interventional radiology, with 16 cases including normal variants and pathology. Medpix Radiology Teaching Files: http://rad.usuhs.edu/medpix/medpix. html?modeⴝtf2&actionⴝ pre&acr_preⴝ9 The Uniformed Services University Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences Web site hosts the MedPix database with more than 220 vascular interventional radiology cases, all of which are online and peer reviewed. There is also an online interventional radiology lecture about breast procedures.
Grand Rounds in Interventional Radiology: http://www.uwtv.org/ programs/displayseries.aspx?fIDⴝ743 This Web site from the radiology department at the University of Washington contains two Web casts about laser treatment of varicose veins and new horizons in venous insufficiency, discussing these treatments and few other interventional procedures. Mid America Interventional Radiological Society: http://www.mirs.org/rounds/ The Mid America Interventional Radiology Society is a professional society for interventional radiologists in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri. It has a wonderful site for medical students and junior radiologists in its syllabus section, with sections on “tools of the trade,” patient preparation, vascular diagnostic, vascular intervention, and nonvascular intervention. There is also an interventional rounds section with more than 20 illustrated cases. The Medical University of South Carolina: http://radinfo.musc.edu/ Interventional/index.php?moduleⴝ pagemaster&PAGE_user_opⴝview_ page&PAGE_idⴝ44&MMN_ positionⴝ54:54 This site has useful PowerPoint presentations on angiographic anatomy and the role of bronchial artery embolization in the management of hemoptysis, uterine fibroid embolization, pelvic vascular anatomy and numerous presentations about carotid artery disease, stent placement, and protection devices. There are also good review articles about endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms
This is a good general site with comprehensive educational links to all aspects of radiology, including interventional radiology. Other areas of interest to the interventional radiologist will include the section about anatomy Web sites. The Dotter Institute: http://www. ohsu.edu/dotter/new_techniques.htm The Dotter Institute has a section on its Web site called new techniques in which endovascular treatment of aneurysms, carotid stent placement, fibroid embolization, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts, venous ablation, and the treatment of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia are discussed. Interventional Radiology Devices: http://www.WhichInterventionalDevice. com This site is independent to any company, country, or society. There are expert reviews of a variety of interventional devices. The site requires registration, which is free, and one can pass on his or her comments about interventional radiology devices and upload pictures and/or radiologic images.
INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY CONSENT FORMS Consent Forms: http://www.uphs. upenn.edu/radiology/pati/ir/ consent.shtml This Web site from the University of Pennsylvania Health System contains consent forms and patient information leaflets for 25 interventional radiology procedures, covering all the risks and benefits from a generic interventional radiology form to more esoteric procedures such as adrenal vein sampling.
Volume 19
Number 5
Patient Information Leaflets from the Royal College of Radiology: http://www.rcr.ac.uk/index.asp? PageIDⴝ323 A comprehensive list of patient information leaflets about 16 of the most common interventional radiology procedures from the Royal College of Radiology (United Kingdom). This list was last updated in 2000.
INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY CURRICULUM Interventional radiology curriculum varies from country to country. However, there are broad areas of overlap with regard to what a trainee should achieve to be a competent interventionalist. In some countries, there is no specific training requirement to be an interventional radiologist, in others there are fellowships, and in yet others there are exit examinations to be undertaken following an accredited fellowship before certification in interventional radiology. U.S. Fellowship Curriculum The following Web sites give detailed information about the interventional radiology curriculum followed in the United States: http://www.sirweb.org/ gradEdu/FellowshipCurriculum.pdf, http://www.theabr.org/VIR_home.htm U.K. Fellowship Curriculum The following Web sites give information about the interventional radiology curriculum followed in the United Kingdom: BSIR: http://www. bsir.org/index.php?pid⫽86, and Royal College of Radiology: http://www.rcr. ac.uk/docs/radiology/pdf/IntervenSSC.pdf. The fellowship curricula outlined in the sites are very similar and describe the objectives of training, establish the
Athreya et al
core knowledge required, and focus on the practical skills required in terms of vascular and nonvascular intervention. There are guidelines as to the number of procedures required to be performed, but the Royal College of Radiology is moving from a time and/or number of procedures done to a competency-based certification. Australia/New Zealand Credentialing Guidelines The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiology has a section on their site detailing accreditation requirements for training programs and divide training into two tiers—A and B—with tier B being specialist interventional training. There is also information about the minimum training requirements in terms of number of procedures done and proof of quality in terms of appropriate clinical indicators and complication rates. In addition, there is information about on-call cover and equipment standards. The sites can be accessed at http://www.irsa.com.au/guidelines. html and http://www.ranzcr.edu. au/qualityprograms/accreditation/ credentialling.cfm.
FELLOWSHIP WEB SITES This is a listing of fellowship opportunities that arise annually and that are accredited or certified by the governing body of radiology in their home country. United States The National Resident Matching Program and the Association of Program Directors in Radiology have a link on their site to a list of fellowship programs in radiology participating in the matching program. It also has listings about postmatch fellowships of-
•
781
fered. The sites can be accessed at http://www.nrmp.org/fellow/match_ name/radiology/rad_prev07.pdf and http://www.apdir.org/. Canada The Web site, which can be accessed at http://www.car.ca, is a listing of Canadian radiology fellowships, including those in interventional radiology, and was last updated in 2004. It should, however, still be reasonably relevant and includes contact details for obtaining further information. United Kingdom The BSIR has on its Web site (http:// www.bsir.org/trainees/index.php?pid⫽9) a section devoted to radiology fellowship programs in the United Kingdom that is fairly comprehensive and has details about whom to contact for further information. Australia The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiology have a list of advanced training positions on their Web site, which can be accessed at http://www.ranzcr.edu.au/education andtraining/radiodiagnosis/training/ 11.cfm.
CONCLUSION In summary, there is a wealth of information about interventional radiology available on the World Wide Web, covering all aspects of training and educational resources. Although every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy of the internet addresses given, Web sites do change rapidly. If an address is inactive, please consider typing the key elements of the address into Google, as this may return a new address.
Interventional Radiology: A Web Review Sriharsha Athreya, MS, FRCS, FRCR, Navin Mathias, FRCS, FRCR, and Iain Roberston, FRCR There is a wealth of information available on the World Wide Web relating to interventional radiology. The authors reviewed resources that may be pertinent to trainees at all stages, interventional radiology specialists, physicians in other specialties, and patients. J Vasc Interv Radiol 2008; 19:779 –781 Abbreviations:
BSIR ⫽ British Society of Interventional Radiology, CIRSE ⫽ Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Society of Europe
THERE is a wealth of information available on the World Wide Web relating to interventional radiology. Herein, we review resources that may be pertinent to trainees at all stages, interventional radiology specialists, physicians in other specialties, and patients. The goal of the review is to provide a readily accessible summary of internet sites relating to interventional radiology, including resources relating to education, training and curricula, and international societies and/or organizations. The available resources on interventional radiology were identified by using Web-based popular search engines. The Web-based resources were selected to include popular sites across different regions in the world and on the basis of the quality of information available on these sites.
GENERAL WEB SITES: INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR): www.SIRweb.org The SIR is a professional society for physicians who specialize in inFrom the Department of Radiology, Gartnavel General Hospital, Great Western Rd, Glasgow, G12 0YN United Kingdom. Received November 17, 2007; final revision received January 30, 2008; accepted February 4, 2008. Address correspondence to S.A.; E-mail: [email protected] None of the authors have identified a conflict of interest. © SIR, 2008 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvir.2008.02.005
terventional or minimally invasive procedures. It has sections about clinical practice guidelines, general information for patients and doctors, information about its annual meeting and worldwide meetings on interventional radiology, the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, jobs, etc. In addition, it has a membership directory and listing of fellowships. It also has downloadable lectures about interventional radiology topics. Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology Society of Europe (CIRSE): www.cirse.org The CIRSE and the European School of Interventional Radiology are the European equivalent of the SIR. The Web site contains excellent information about interventional radiology, the various procedures performed, quality standards, radiation protection in interventional radiology, and its annual meeting. The European School of Interventional Radiology also conducts regular courses on interventional radiology for basic and advanced practitioners. The CIRSE has initiated and established E3IR—Electronic Education Excellence in Interventional Radiology—an online tool that enables those interested to benefit, once more, from the educational material from previous CIRSE meetings, Europe’s leading congress in interventional radiology.
British Society of Interventional Radiology (BSIR): www.bsir.org The BSIR has an excellent concise Web site including information about interventional radiology, its annual meeting, training (junior members’ forum), education (including a list of interesting cases), clinical governance, bursaries, registries, and research. Interventional Radiology Society of Australia and New Zealand: http:// www.ranzcr.edu.au/affiliatedgroups/ irsa/index.cfm The Interventional Radiology Society of Australia is affiliated with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiology. It lists the minimum requirements for accreditation in interventional radiology in Australia and New Zealand and also lists the hospitals accredited for such training. Canadian Interventional Radiology Association: http://www.car.ca/cira/ home.html This site has good links to detailed information about various interventional radiology procedures (grand rounds in interventional radiology), including central venous access, preservation of hemodialysis access, peripheral arterial disease, interventional treatment options for peripheral arterial disease, renovascular hypertension, stent-grafts for repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms, new treatment option for deep venous thrombosis, uter-
779
780
•
Interventional Radiology: A Web Review
May 2008
JVIR
ine fibroid embolization, and the treatment of peripheral vascular disease.
E-Medicine: http://www. emedicine.com/radio/ VASCULARINTERVENTIONAL.htm
and carotid artery angioplasty and stent placement.
INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY TEACHING RESOURCES
This Web site from WebMD has more than 40 well-written, peer-reviewed articles about all aspects of interventional radiology—from aortic aneurysms to vertebroplasty. This is an excellent resource, with comprehensive articles and good-quality images and references at the end.
Radiology Education: http://www. radiologyeducation.com/
Aunt Minnie: www.auntminnie.com Aunt Minnie is a well-known comprehensive radiology Web site that requires registration to access the content, which is free. With regard to interventional radiology, there are links to news articles in the media and journals, an e-library with reference texts, a case of the day section that is indexed to provide a list of all cases with interventional content, a Continuing Medical Education database, a list of all upcoming conferences and meetings, searchable job listings (with bias to those in the United States), a general radiologist and resident forum, and a media section. European Association of Radiology E-learning Initiative: http://www. eurorad.org/ This is an excellent peer-reviewed database of radiology in general, with many illustrated interventional radiology cases—all illustrated, including normal procedures. This Web site requires payment for registration. University Hospital of Cleveland: http://www.uhrad.com/INTARC. HTM The University Hospital of Cleveland and Rainbow Children’s Hospital Web site has a section about interventional radiology, with 16 cases including normal variants and pathology. Medpix Radiology Teaching Files: http://rad.usuhs.edu/medpix/medpix. html?modeⴝtf2&actionⴝ pre&acr_preⴝ9 The Uniformed Services University Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences Web site hosts the MedPix database with more than 220 vascular interventional radiology cases, all of which are online and peer reviewed. There is also an online interventional radiology lecture about breast procedures.
Grand Rounds in Interventional Radiology: http://www.uwtv.org/ programs/displayseries.aspx?fIDⴝ743 This Web site from the radiology department at the University of Washington contains two Web casts about laser treatment of varicose veins and new horizons in venous insufficiency, discussing these treatments and few other interventional procedures. Mid America Interventional Radiological Society: http://www.mirs.org/rounds/ The Mid America Interventional Radiology Society is a professional society for interventional radiologists in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri. It has a wonderful site for medical students and junior radiologists in its syllabus section, with sections on “tools of the trade,” patient preparation, vascular diagnostic, vascular intervention, and nonvascular intervention. There is also an interventional rounds section with more than 20 illustrated cases. The Medical University of South Carolina: http://radinfo.musc.edu/ Interventional/index.php?moduleⴝ pagemaster&PAGE_user_opⴝview_ page&PAGE_idⴝ44&MMN_ positionⴝ54:54 This site has useful PowerPoint presentations on angiographic anatomy and the role of bronchial artery embolization in the management of hemoptysis, uterine fibroid embolization, pelvic vascular anatomy and numerous presentations about carotid artery disease, stent placement, and protection devices. There are also good review articles about endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms
This is a good general site with comprehensive educational links to all aspects of radiology, including interventional radiology. Other areas of interest to the interventional radiologist will include the section about anatomy Web sites. The Dotter Institute: http://www. ohsu.edu/dotter/new_techniques.htm The Dotter Institute has a section on its Web site called new techniques in which endovascular treatment of aneurysms, carotid stent placement, fibroid embolization, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts, venous ablation, and the treatment of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia are discussed. Interventional Radiology Devices: http://www.WhichInterventionalDevice. com This site is independent to any company, country, or society. There are expert reviews of a variety of interventional devices. The site requires registration, which is free, and one can pass on his or her comments about interventional radiology devices and upload pictures and/or radiologic images.
INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY CONSENT FORMS Consent Forms: http://www.uphs. upenn.edu/radiology/pati/ir/ consent.shtml This Web site from the University of Pennsylvania Health System contains consent forms and patient information leaflets for 25 interventional radiology procedures, covering all the risks and benefits from a generic interventional radiology form to more esoteric procedures such as adrenal vein sampling.
Volume 19
Number 5
Patient Information Leaflets from the Royal College of Radiology: http://www.rcr.ac.uk/index.asp? PageIDⴝ323 A comprehensive list of patient information leaflets about 16 of the most common interventional radiology procedures from the Royal College of Radiology (United Kingdom). This list was last updated in 2000.
INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGY CURRICULUM Interventional radiology curriculum varies from country to country. However, there are broad areas of overlap with regard to what a trainee should achieve to be a competent interventionalist. In some countries, there is no specific training requirement to be an interventional radiologist, in others there are fellowships, and in yet others there are exit examinations to be undertaken following an accredited fellowship before certification in interventional radiology. U.S. Fellowship Curriculum The following Web sites give detailed information about the interventional radiology curriculum followed in the United States: http://www.sirweb.org/ gradEdu/FellowshipCurriculum.pdf, http://www.theabr.org/VIR_home.htm U.K. Fellowship Curriculum The following Web sites give information about the interventional radiology curriculum followed in the United Kingdom: BSIR: http://www. bsir.org/index.php?pid⫽86, and Royal College of Radiology: http://www.rcr. ac.uk/docs/radiology/pdf/IntervenSSC.pdf. The fellowship curricula outlined in the sites are very similar and describe the objectives of training, establish the
Athreya et al
core knowledge required, and focus on the practical skills required in terms of vascular and nonvascular intervention. There are guidelines as to the number of procedures required to be performed, but the Royal College of Radiology is moving from a time and/or number of procedures done to a competency-based certification. Australia/New Zealand Credentialing Guidelines The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiology has a section on their site detailing accreditation requirements for training programs and divide training into two tiers—A and B—with tier B being specialist interventional training. There is also information about the minimum training requirements in terms of number of procedures done and proof of quality in terms of appropriate clinical indicators and complication rates. In addition, there is information about on-call cover and equipment standards. The sites can be accessed at http://www.irsa.com.au/guidelines. html and http://www.ranzcr.edu. au/qualityprograms/accreditation/ credentialling.cfm.
FELLOWSHIP WEB SITES This is a listing of fellowship opportunities that arise annually and that are accredited or certified by the governing body of radiology in their home country. United States The National Resident Matching Program and the Association of Program Directors in Radiology have a link on their site to a list of fellowship programs in radiology participating in the matching program. It also has listings about postmatch fellowships of-
•
781
fered. The sites can be accessed at http://www.nrmp.org/fellow/match_ name/radiology/rad_prev07.pdf and http://www.apdir.org/. Canada The Web site, which can be accessed at http://www.car.ca, is a listing of Canadian radiology fellowships, including those in interventional radiology, and was last updated in 2004. It should, however, still be reasonably relevant and includes contact details for obtaining further information. United Kingdom The BSIR has on its Web site (http:// www.bsir.org/trainees/index.php?pid⫽9) a section devoted to radiology fellowship programs in the United Kingdom that is fairly comprehensive and has details about whom to contact for further information. Australia The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiology have a list of advanced training positions on their Web site, which can be accessed at http://www.ranzcr.edu.au/education andtraining/radiodiagnosis/training/ 11.cfm.
CONCLUSION In summary, there is a wealth of information about interventional radiology available on the World Wide Web, covering all aspects of training and educational resources. Although every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy of the internet addresses given, Web sites do change rapidly. If an address is inactive, please consider typing the key elements of the address into Google, as this may return a new address.