Mission

SIR Foundation is a scientific foundation dedicated to fostering research in interventional radiology for the purposes of advancing scientific knowledge, increasing the number of skilled investigators, and developing innovative therapies that lead to improved patient care and quality of life.

The Foundation is committed to developing, evaluating and enhancing innovative, minimally invasive, image-guided therapies from inception to mature clinical application and to conducting educational programs in the service of its mission.

Your Discovery Campaign Contribution Will

1. Educate the public, providers, payors and policy makers on the effectiveness of IR procedures through the creation and maintenance of registries and other research efforts targeted at contributing to Level 1 evidence regarding the efficacy of interventional radiology procedures, helping to increase public knowledge of this cutting-edge field of medicine and ensuring that patients receive the most effective, least invasive treatments.

2. Double the number of investigator grants in a program that has an impressive 12 to 1 return on investment via acquisition of external funding, enabling the next generation of researchers to investigate new procedures that will become tomorrow's standard of care.

3. Support clinical trial efforts in IR by enabling the Foundation to serve as a research incubator and resource provider in IR clinical trials, identifying critical research topics, organizing research consensus panels and providing clinical trial planning grants to help bring more IR trials to fruition.

4. Enable the development of new procedures and therapies that will maintain IR at the forefront of image-guided interventions well into the future.

Contributions to the Discovery Campaign are vital to the survival and continued operation of SIR Foundation because SIR membership dues do not cover the operation of the Foundation.

IRs and Research

  • Interventional radiologists (IRs) are a dedicated group of minimally invasive specialists who regularly collaborate to achieve new dimensions in research and quality patient care in children and adults.

  • IRs are recognized as leaders in the development of health care policy promoting patient care, education, research and communication.

  • Discovery, innovation and enhancements in nonsurgical devices and procedures make interventional radiology a key specialty in solving the challenge of overwhelming health care costs and reducing pain and suffering of patients in the United States and around the world.

  • Interventional radiologists have been on the forefront of some of the most dramatic practice-changing procedures in medicine over the past 25 years (e.g., angioplasty, vascular stenting, cancer therapies, IVC filters, DVT management, laser vein ablation and UFE). IR innovations continue to change the medical landscape and offer patients less risk, less pain and less recovery time than open surgical treatments.

A Track Record of Success

SIR Foundation is directly involved in the ongoing development of the SIR Strategic Plan and supports SIR’s mission to improve public health through disease management using minimally invasive, image-guided therapeutic interventions. Research and innovation are the two powerful engines that launched IR and have sustained it as a major force in the development of minimally invasive medicine.

Since 1996, the Foundation has invested nearly $9 million into the field of interventional radiology -- fostering advances in research, education and innovation. Each year, the Foundation focuses on funding key initiatives within the SIR strategic plan that are in line with its mission.

Further, the Foundation endeavors through trials, registries, research grants and innovations to prove that IR procedures add value to the health care system by reducing the suffering caused by disease and disability.

Since its inaugural Interventional America 2000 (IA2000) Campaign, the Foundation has had a significant impact on IR research. The Foundation has been an aggressive steward of the $5 million raised for investigator-initiated research through IA2000. In fact, more than $1.8 million has been invested in 80 research grants over the past decade. These grant recipients have subsequently received more than $12 million in federal and other extramural funding … an excellent return on investment. The impact of IA2000 continues today and allows SIR Foundation to continue funding – a decade later – important research grants.

Additionally, through special project support from industry and related foundations, the Foundation has been able to substantially and strategically foster innovation in those areas most relevant to the IR specialty. Whether it is new approaches to transluminal revascularization, intraarterial contrast utilization or embolization of uterine fibroids, the SIR Foundation has been instrumental in providing the evidence needed to validate new and innovative minimally invasive techniques and therapies.