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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.

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 $9,000,000 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 which 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 healthcare 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 $5,000,000 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.

In addition to research grants, recent and current SIR Foundation initiatives include:

• The Uterine Artery Embolization (UAE) FIBROID Registry has been a resounding success. The effort tracked more than 3,000 women in several dozen practices in order to assess the safety, effectiveness and durability of the UAE procedure and to obtain data which allows comparison of UAE to other fibroid therapies. The results of the FIBROID Registry have been widely published and have lead to the emergence of UAE as a leading treatment for uterine fibroids.

• The Cooperative Alliance for Interventional Radiology Research (CAIRR) Network is helping the IR specialty by growing clinical research to secure the specialty's future. CAIRR currently has seven clinical studies in the development pipeline, with a focus on:

  • Cancer (separate studies on lung and liver oncology)

  • Deep Vein Thrombosis (ATTRACT - Acute Venous Thrombosis: Thrombus Removal with Adjunctive Catheter-directed Thrombolysis)

  • Fertility (UAE vs. Myomectomy)

  • Stroke Prevention (TACIT - Transatlantic Asymptomatic Carotid Intervention Trial)

• Innovation and Research in Interventional Radiology – (IR)2 – has become a valuable forum for interventional radiologists to collaborate with peers in the medical profession, biomedical sciences, and leading industry stakeholders, setting the stage for advancements in healthcare treatments.

SIR Foundation Discovery Campaign
3975 Fair Ridge Drive, Suite 400 North, Fairfax, VA 22033
Phone - 703.691.1805 Fax - 703.691.1855
info@SIRFoundation.org

©2007 SIR Foundation. All rights reserved.