Ray elected treasurer of national radiology society

Charles E. Ray Jr., professor in the Department of Radiology at the School of Medicine, was elected treasurer of the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) during the organization’s 38th Annual Scientific Meeting in New Orleans on April 18. SIR is a national organization of nearly 5,000 doctors, scientists and allied health professionals dedicated to improving health care through minimally invasive treatments.

Interventional radiologists are physicians who specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments. 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. 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. This year, SIR celebrates 40 years of innovation and advances in interventional radiology.