Interventional Radiology Innovators: Advancing Minimally Invasive Modern Medicine

Contributions of Society of Interventional Radiology Members Through Medical
Patents, Patent Applications Continue to Alter Medical Landscape to Improve
Patient Care

TAMPA, Fla. , March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Over the past 40 years,
more than 2,400 patents and patent applications-pioneering modern medicine
with the devices and drugs that advance minimally invasive treatments-have
been filed by members of the Society of Interventional Radiology. These
innovations-from the invention of angioplasty and the catheter-delivered
stent, which were both first used to treat peripheral arterial disease in the
legs, to drug-coated stents, balloon angioplasty, vena cava filters, catheter
delivery systems, aortic endografts, ozone generators and radiofrequency
ablation and clot-removing devices of today-continue to shape and change the
medical landscape and improve patient care.

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"The introduction of new devices, drugs and methods result in continuously
increasing numbers of patients being treated by interventional
radiologists-without the need for open invasive surgery, without the need for
a scalpel. That's modern medicine," said Kieran J. Murphy, M.D., FSIR,
program chair of SIR's 35th Annual Scientific Meeting being held March 13-18
at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Fla. "The quality and quantity of
the devices and drugs used to advance minimally invasive treatments for
patients are a testament to the incredible inventiveness of interventional
radiologists," noted Murphy, interventional neuroradiologist and vice chair
and deputy chief of medical imaging at the University of Toronto in
Ontario, Canada. In fact, SIR's meeting celebrates "IR Innovation,"
highlighting the tremendous interventional radiology advances in patient care
and quality of life. "These unique inventions pioneered the profession, and
new ones continue to benefit-and help advance-other medical specialties as
well, including cardiology, urology and oncology," he added. SIR is honoring
IR inventors and inventions with a special "Hall of Innovation" at its annual
meeting.

A sampling of the numerous interventional radiology innovators whose
inventions allow patients to be healed without having invasive operations
include Kurt Amplatz, M.D., FSIR (the Amplatzer septal occluder, which
repairs atrial septal defects, a hole in the wall between the upper chambers
of the heart by percutaneous catheter placement, and the specially shaped
Amplatz catheter, a mainstay for coronary angiography); Harold G. Coons,
M.D. (covered expanding mesh stent, used as an expandable biliary, vascular,
endotracheal, esophageal or prostatic device); Andrew H. Cragg, M.D., FSIR
(infusion catheters, spinal fusion devices and a novel approach to access the
lumbar spine by approaching the spine along its axis, rather than from the
side, front or back); Lindsay Machan, M.D., FSIR (combined drug and device
together with the paclitaxel stent, a revolutionary treatment for coronary
artery disease that prevents scar tissue from growing into a stent and
re-clogging the artery); Robert J. Min, M.D., FSIR (endovenous laser for
treatment of venous insufficiency-when the leg's veins cannot effectively
return blood to the heart-a minimally invasive technique used by thousands of
physicians around the world to treat a variety of conditions, including
varicose veins); and Julio C. Palmaz, M.D., FSIR (the first clinically
successful balloon expandable vascular stent used for the first successful
abdominal aortic stent grafts and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic
shunts, now common procedures throughout the world; this device has found
applications beyond the arterial system, including veins [peripheral, central
and pulmonary], the biliary ducts and the tracheobronchial tree).

Murphy, who noted that Machan and Palmaz are presenting sessions at the Annual
Scientific Meeting, holds numerous patents related to spine/back and
vertebroplasty, including methods for bone augmentation and for fostering and
preserving bone growth and for strengthening vertebral bodies.

During the 1980s, the majority of patents and patent applications focused on
stents and vascular work involving blood vessels. The 1990s and early 2000s
shifted to spine/lumbar patents and applications, said Murphy. After 1995,
there was a marked and sustained increase in patent fillings. Recently, work
has centered on cancer care. "We will see huge advances in oncology,
especially in improved technology for total cancer tumor kill with heat-based
devices," predicted Murphy. "There will be a trend toward drug-device
combinations in bone or tumor treatments," added the co-author of "An
Examination of the Inventiveness of the Society of Interventional Radiology
Membership."

"An exhaustive patent search of SIR current and former members conducted by
searching the United States Patent and Trademark Office database-as well as
international patents-shows interventional radiologists created the minimally
invasive medical profession," said Murphy. "The study's aim was to find a
metric of the inventiveness of SIR members and gain a sense of the
contribution they have made to the creation of the field of image-guided
therapy," said Murphy, who cross referenced SIR membership with patent filings
and applications at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the international
patent filling body, the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty). "Interventional
radiologists created the tools that we all use today. The inventiveness and
creativity of the SIR membership far surpassed our expectations. The
contribution of the members to the field is striking, with the demographics
indicating that clinical challenges and daily work with patients are the
greatest sources of innovation," he noted.

Angioplasty and stenting revolutionized medicine and led the way for the more
widely known applications of coronary artery angioplasty and stenting that
advanced the practice of cardiology. Today, many conditions that once required
surgery can be treated nonsurgically by interventional radiologists. Through a
small knick in the skin, IRs use tiny catheters and miniature instruments so
small they can be run through a person's network of arteries to treat at the
site of illness internally, saving the patient from open invasive surgery. The
risks of interventional procedures are far lower than the risks of open
surgery and are a major advance in medicine for patients.

Some of the more recent advances in interventional radiology include
nonsurgical ablation of tumors to kill cancer without harming the surrounding
tissue; embolization therapy to stop hemorrhaging or to block the blood supply
to a tumor; catheter-directed thrombolysis to clear blood clots, preventing
disability from deep vein thrombosis and stroke; and carotid artery
angioplasty and stenting to prevent stroke.

Of the 2,429 patents and applications studied, 622 were issued patents and 938
were applications with USPTO; there were 629 issued patents and 303 patent
applications at the PCT. According to Murphy, the file patent breakdown was as
follows: 1 patent (211 members); 2-10 patents (175 members); 10-20 patents (29
members); 20-30 patents (10 members); 30-170 patents (14 members). Murphy
indicated that the percentage breakdown by nationality for patents and
applications was as follows: United States, (67 percent), Europe (26
percent), Japan (4 percent), Korea and the Czech Republic (about 1
percent) and Australia and Canada (both under 1 percent).

More information about the Society of Interventional Radiology, interventional
radiology and minimally invasive treatments for disease can be found online at
www.SIRweb.org.

Abstract 75: "An Examination of the Inventiveness of the Society of
Interventional Radiology Membership," K.J. Murphy and R. Mandani, both at
the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, SIR 35th Annual
Scientific Meeting March 13-18, 2010, Tampa, Fla. This abstract can be found
at www.SIRmeeting.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.

Many conditions that once required surgery can be treated less invasively by
interventional radiologists. Interventional radiology treatments offer less
risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery. Visit
www.SIRweb.org.

The Society of Interventional Radiology is holding its 35th Annual Scientific
Meeting March 13-18 in Tampa, Fla. The theme of the meeting is "IR
Innovation," celebrating the remarkable inventiveness of SIR members and
highlighting the contributions made to both the creation of the field of
interventional radiology and to improving patient care.

SOURCE Society of Interventional Radiology

Maryann Verrillo, +1-703-460-5572, Diane Shnitzler, +1-703-460-5582, March
11-12: Lisa Tadje, +1-212-453-2137, March 11-12: Don Murphy, (212) 453-2462,
March 11-12: Neil Hochman, +1-212-453-2067, or March 13-18: Tampa Press Room,
+1-813-276-6905, +1-813-276-6906, +1-813-276-6912, comm@SIRweb.org