Award of Excellence and Innovation in IR
Congratulations to this year’s winner Prof. William T. Kuo!
The Award of Excellence and Innovation in Interventional Radiology, sponsored by the Rolf W. Günther Foundation for Radiological Sciences, is awarded on a yearly basis for outstanding contributions to the advancement of interventional radiology. Since its establishment in 2012, this distinction has been granted to some of the most innovative physicians in the field. The recipient of the award receives a certificate of merit as well as a cash prize of €6,000.
This year, the honour was awarded to Prof. William T. Kuo for his work on the Excimer Laser-Assisted Removal of Embedded IVC Filters, which included the development of a new concept and procedure and recognised treatment.
The Innovation
Excimer Laser-Assisted Removal of Embedded IVC Filters is a new cutting-edge procedure that permits on a cellular/molecular level (via 306 nm XeCl excimer laser) the safe removal of many different IVC filters refractory to standard retrieval methods regardless of dwell time, including many permanent IVC filters.
Progress of this innovation and its recognition as an important treatment option were already summarised in numerous journals. In 2010, the first human case report was published in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (JVIR), and the innovative procedure led to the creation of the Stanford IVC Filter Clinic – now a national & international referral centre dedicated to treating patients with embedded IVC Filters.
After studying further results on over 500 patients, the overall safety and efficacy of the laser technique was validated in 2020 and published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. In addition, the study validated a new force-gauge protocol demonstrating how routine force gauge use in conjunction with the excimer laser not only avoids complications associated with excessive force, but also allows successful filter removal to be achieved safely using significantly lower force. The laser technique was acknowledged and referenced by a multidisciplinary consensus panel as an advanced technique that may be used to treat patients suffering complications from an embedded IVC filter refractory to standard retrieval methods.
About the winner
William T. Kuo is a professor of radiology and interventional radiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, California, USA. He is the author or co-author of more than 54 research papers and has contributed to numerous reviews and textbooks. His interest In IVC filters and pulmonary embolism have long been inspired by European leaders in IR especially Miguel A. De Gregorio, Professor Michael J. Lee, Professor Thomas Schmitz-Rode, Professor Christoph A. Binkert, Professor Stefan Müller-Hülsbeck, and of course Professor Rolf W. Günther. Their seminal work inspired him to pursue research and innovations in catheter-directed thrombolysis for acute PE and advanced IVC filter retrieval.
Picture gallery
Past winners
| Year | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | William T. Kuo for his work on the Excimer laser-assisted removal of embedded IVC filters. | |||
| 2021 | Ulrich Speck and Bruno Scheller for their work on using drug-coated balloons (DCB) for the local treatment of intimal hyperplasia. | |||
| 2020 | Frédéric Deschamps for his work on percutaneous fixation by internal cemented-screw in bone cancer patients | |||
| 2019 | Boris Guiu and Mathieu T. Boulin for their work on Idarubicin as Anticancer Agent for Transarterial Chemoembolisation (TACE) of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) | |||
| 2018 | M. Itkin for his development of new imaging and intervention techniques of the lymphatic system | |||
| 2017 | Hans Henkes for his pioneering development of cerebral stent thrombectomy in the management of acute ischemic stroke | |||
| 2017 | MRCLEAN trialists for their groundbreaking trial on endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke | |||
| 2016 | F. Carnevale for his pioneering work on prostate embolisation | |||
| 2015 | P. Bize, G. Borchard, A. Denys, K. Fuchs and O. Jordan for their research on drug-eluting beads loaded with anti-angiogenic agents for chemoembolisation | |||
| 2014 | M.G.E.H. Lam, J.F.W. Nijsen and M.A.A.J. van den Bosch for their development of the Holmium-166 microspheres and assessing safety and maximum tolerated radiation dose | |||
| 2013 | S. Lerouge and G. Soulez for their development of an embolizing sclerosing hydrogel for the treatment of endoleaks, vascular malformations and venous disease | |||
| 2012 | A. Bolia and J.A. Reekers for their development and promotion of subintimal angioplasty | |||
CIRSE would like to warmly thank the R.W. Günther Foundation for funding the award.
