Interventional Radiology

In a report published in 2017, the World Cancer Research Fund International indicates that breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, with nearly 1.7 million new cases diagnosed in 2012 (second most common cancer overall). This represents about 12% of all new cancer cases and 25% of all cancers in women. It…

Four years ago, Tony had a serious case of liver disease, which caused ascites, an accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity. He suffered painful abdominal swelling and had to go to the hospital once a week in order to have the fluid drained. His doctor recommended that he undergo a TIPS procedure to help…

When the Affordable Care Act came into effect in 2010, it introduced the Pay-for-Performance (P4P) Program, which consists of three main categories—the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program, Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program, and the Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program—to evaluate hospitals and incentivize them to provide more affordable, more efficient, and safer patient care. In this post, we focus on…

In honor of National Liver Awareness Month (October), we are encouraging everyone to read Skinny Liver: A Proven Program to Prevent and Reverse the New Silent Epidemic – Fatty Liver Disease.1 The American Liver Foundation recommends Skinny Liver as a great source of information for preventing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).2 While alcohol abuse and…

This year, Cook Vista® is offering several different courses in which Cook’s liver access sets are the focal point. Both the Rösch-Uchida Transjugular Liver Access Set (RUPS) and the Ring Transjugular Intrahepatic Access Set (Ring) are used for transjugular liver access in diagnostic and interventional procedures. “I want to learn more about using the Rösch-Uchida Transjugular…

Detach with precision. The Retracta coil is a detachable .035 inch diameter coil that’s fully retractable¹ and based on platinum Nester® coil technology. Using a screw mechanism, the Retracta coil remains firmly attached to the delivery wire until you detach it, even if you push the detachment zone out of the catheter. Under fluoroscopy, the change in…

According to the CDC’s Guidelines for the Prevention of Intravascular Catheter-Related Infections, 2011, an important part of preventing central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) is to “educate healthcare personnel regarding the indications for intravascular catheter use, proper procedures for insertion and maintenance of intravascular catheters, and appropriate infection control measures to prevent intravascular catheter-related infections.”[1] The…

Editor’s note:  On November 6 of 2016, interventional radiology lost one of its true pioneers, Dr. Constantin Cope. Dr. Cope’s contribution to the IR community will be forever felt through those who had the privilege of his training and mentorship. Certainly his work lives on through the many innovations that have changed medicine and patient…

Did you know?  Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the buildup of extra fat in liver cells that is not caused by alcohol. Sedentary lifestyles and Western diets are contributing to an increasing incidence of NAFLD. Read about the epidemiology and natural history of NAFLD. The top three leading causes of death in patients with…

The Cook Medical clinical specialist team is here to provide training for your vascular access needs. Over the past six years, Cook Medical has assembled a highly qualified clinical specialist team. Comprised of four nursing professionals with a combined 114 years of clinical nursing experience, the team was created to help educate our customers about…

Dr. Josef Rösch, who pioneered important new medical techniques and interventional procedures, passed away early this year at the age of 91. Some of his innovations include the use of embolization to control gastrointestinal bleeding and the transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) procedure. “Cook has had the pleasure and the wonderful opportunity to work with…

On October 1, 2015, the U.S. healthcare system transitioned from the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9) code set to International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10). Available on the Cook website is an ICD-9 to ICD-10 crosswalk for select procedures in which Cook devices are used. This master list includes coding information that…

In September 2014, a Cook sales representative, Chuck, and his wife, Barbara, underwent an ordeal when Barbara was hospitalized with a serious illness. First, she contracted a sepsis infection caused by a displaced feeding tube. Barbara then had another setback when her peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC), which was inserted to administer medicine and draw…

Catheter-related and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CRBSIs/CLABSIs) hurt. They hurt patients by putting their lives at risk, increasing their length of hospital stay, and causing untold stress and anxiety. CRBSIs/CLABSIs also hurt hospitals by harming their reputations and Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) scores, and putting them at risk for federally mandated penalties that can have a…

Efficient and effective (94.2% accuracy) Using the Transluminal Biliary Biopsy Forceps Set and a novel “cross and push” technique to maintain access with the wire guide beyond the biopsy area, Dr. Prashant Patel, Dr. Balaji Rangarajan, and Dr. Kamarjit Mangat have achieved 94.2% diagnostic accuracy. They have published their results in CardioVascular and Interventional Radiology….

A feeding tube enables people who can’t eat normally—due to injury, oral cancer, or another short-or long-term illness—to get the food and nutrition they need via a tube fed into the stomach through the abdomen. To honor Feeding Tube Awareness Week, we are sharing this video of patients who live with a feeding tube, as…

2015 marks the 40th anniversary of Dr. Cesare Gianturco’s invention of the “wooly tail” embolization coil. In this video, interventional radiologists Dr. Fred Keller, Dr. Ernest Ring, and Dr. Fritz Angle talk about Dr. Gianturco’s legacy and the impact of this revolutionary coil. Dr. Fred Keller, Dr. Ernest Ring, and Dr. Fritz Angle are not…

At the 2015 SIR scientific meeting, Robert J. Lewandowski, MD, FSIR, presented an update on degradable drug-eluting particles. According to Dr. Lewandowski, “The next generation of degradable embolic particles offers an enticing advancement for interventional radiologists. Patients (and referring physicians) will no doubt find it appealing to mitigate long-term/lifelong foreign body implantation. “Regardless of improved…

Detachable Retracta coils are great for embolization procedures that require very precise deployment. In the above video, according to Dr. Charles Kim (Duke University School of Medicine) and Dr. Constantino Peña (Miami Vascular Specialists), using detachable Retracta coils in combination with pushable Nester®, MReye®, and Tornado® embolization coils can help cut down on procedural costs….

  Dr. Sven Ivar Seldinger (1921-1998), the Swedish radiologist who invented the “Seldinger technique” for percutaneous entry into the vascular system, would have been 93 this April. The technique, which provided an alternative to many more invasive procedures, revolutionized medicine in many ways. We’re proud to honor Dr. Seldinger’s life and legacy.   Caption: The…

What do you do? I am the regional manager for the Intervention Radiology (IR) business unit for Germany, Austria and the German-speaking part of Switzerland and Hungary. How long have you been with Cook? I began working for Cook over a decade ago in 2003. I started out as a sales rep for Diagnostic and…

In 2010, a diagnosis of testicular cancer interrupted Austin Detra’s college swimming career and his studies at Mesa State University in Colorado. Part of his treatment included the use of a Cook implantable port. After this experience, Austin had to reset his life and move on. We had a chance to catch up with him…

Last month, three Interventional Radiologists spent time at our headquarters in Bloomington, Indiana. When physicians come to Cook, we like to take them through the manufacturing plant to show them how the products they use every day are made. They often comment that the most meaningful part of their visit is the chance to meet…

Sometimes it’s nice to have options, especially when it comes to providing the best care for patients, each with their own needs and challenges. For vascular access, part of that care means being able to have the right PICC for any treatment and every patient. The physicians and facilities of Premier, the US’s 2nd largest group purchasing…

What do you do? I’m the senior global product manager and the team leader for Embolic Therapies. How long have you been with Cook? I started at Cook as an intern and took a full-time position in marketing in 1999. So, I’ve been at Cook for almost 15 years. I’ve been in my current position…

May 6 kicks off National Nurses Week 2014 and we’re ready to celebrate! Nurses support each and every medical specialty and serve as experts in their fields. Maybe none more so than in the field of Vascular Access, where nurses are not only placing lines, but working tirelessly to come up with new and better ways to provide…

People who have a feeding tube or care for someone with a feeding tube are part of a passionate and involved global community. That’s why we’re excited to share this news. The new Entuit™ Thrive Balloon Retention Gastrostomy Feeding Tube is now available in the United States. The feeding tube is part of the new…

Learning is one thing. Hands-on experience led by an expert in the field is something completely different. Our fellow’s training events are just that; hands on training with a skilled expert in the specialty. Fellows get the opportunity to meet other fellows, connect with practicing IRs, learn about new products, share best practices and ultimately…

With a company the size of Cook, chances are that our patients and their caregivers could also be our coworkers and friends. Scott, a trainer in Cook’s fitness center, is the Dad of a 13-month-old “tubie.” In preparation for Feeding Tube Awareness Week, Scott shared his thoughts on caring for an adorable little guy that…

Did you know that 54 lives are lost everyday in the U.S. because of catheter-related bloodstream infections? That’s 54 people who are family members, colleagues and friends. When these infections are preventable, we want EVERYONE to know. You may ask, “Why would you spend more than 15 years spreading the word about a technology called…

Healthcare Purchasing News, a publication for supply chain leadership, recently featured Cook Medical’s antimicrobial-impregnated central venous catheters. Dan Sirota discussed Cook Spectrum® technology with journalist Susan Cantrell and explained both the patient and financial impact of using Spectrum.

Physicians are problem-solvers at heart. Those physicians who were working with pacemakers began to see the need for removing leads, and saw the risks to the patient associated with the methods being used. Several physicians began to tinker and identified the first challenges that needed to be overcome in the procedure: Stability, binding scar tissue,…