LOS ANGELES, March 18, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Harnessing the innovative spirit that launched interventional radiology is key to ensuring the specialty's continued evolution and expansion, said Timothy P. Murphy, M.D., FSIR, who delivered the Society of Interventional Radiology's (SIR) 2018 Dr. Charles T. Dotter Lecture on March 18 during SIR's Annual Scientific Meeting in Los Angeles.
Murphy, medical director of the Vascular Disease Research Center, an interventional radiologist at Rhode Island Hospital, and diagnostic imaging professor at Brown Medical School, urged his colleagues to promote innovation by focusing on the technological development as a catalyst for advancement of the specialty and continued improvements in public health.
"We need to foster creativity by providing creative thinkers with a forum to develop their ideas and collaborate with colleagues and investors," Dr. Murphy said. "These new pioneers are the ones that will develop our specialties in as yet unimagined ways to help our patients. We have to recognize that innovation is more challenging than in Dotter's time, and have to actively work to foster it."
The Dotter Lecture, supported by SIR Foundation, is an annual event named in honor of Charles T. Dotter, M.D., considered universally to be the founding father of interventional radiology. The annual lecture spotlights an outstanding interventional radiologist who has greatly contributed to the field and to SIR.
"Dr. Murphy's dedication to research and scientific discovery is the embodiment of Charles Dotter's pioneering spirit" said SIR President Suresh Vedantham, M.D., FSIR, an interventional radiologist, and professor of radiology and surgery at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis. "Dr. Murphy's drive to advance the specialty through research is a model for us all."
Focused on research throughout his career, Murphy served on the steering and operations committees of three key interventional radiology clinical trials. Murphy has also helped found five biomedical technology companies and collaborated with SIR leadership to run the IR Venture Forum at the annual meeting. A past-president of SIR and former Executive Council member, Murphy has been involved with the society for 25 years.
SIR 2018 runs from March 17–March 22 in Los Angeles. More information about the Society of Interventional Radiology, finding an interventional radiologist in your area and minimally invasive, image-guided treatments can be found online at sirweb.org.
About the Society of Interventional Radiology
The Society of Interventional Radiology is a nonprofit, professional medical society representing more than 7,500 practicing interventional radiology physicians, trainees, students, scientists and clinical associates, dedicated to improving patient care through the limitless potential of image-guided therapies. SIR's members work in a variety of settings and at different professional levels—from medical students and residents to university faculty and private practice physicians. Visit sirweb.org.
The Society of Interventional Radiology is holding its Annual Scientific Meeting March 17–22, 2018 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, Calif. Visit sirmeeting.org.
About the Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation
SIR Foundation is a scientific foundation dedicated to fostering research and education in interventional radiology for the purposes of advancing scientific knowledge, increasing the number of skilled investigators in interventional radiology and developing innovative therapies that lead to improved patient care and quality of life. Visit sirfoundation.org.
SOURCE Society of Interventional Radiology