Angioplasty, with or without vascular stenting, is a minimally invasive procedure performed to improve blood flow in the body's arteries and veins.

In an angioplasty procedure, imaging techniques are used to guide a balloon-tipped catheter (a long, thin plastic tube) into an artery or vein and advance it to where the vessel is narrow or blocked. The balloon is then inflated to open the vessel, deflated and removed.

During angioplasty, a small wire mesh tube, called a stent, may be permanently placed in the newly opened artery or vein to help it remain open. There are two types of stents: bare stents (a wire mesh) and covered stents (also commonly called stent grafts).

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Embolization of brain aneurysms and fistulas is a minimally invasive treatment for aneurysms and other blood vessel malformations called fistulas that occur in the brain.

An aneurysm is a bulge or sac that develops in an artery because the wall of the vessel is weak. A bulging aneurysm in the brain may compress surrounding nerves and brain tissue resulting in nerve paralysis, headache, neck and upper back pain as well as nausea and vomiting. If an aneurysm in the brain ruptures, causing an opening in the wall, internal bleeding may cause a stroke or death.

A fistula is an abnormal connection or passageway between the arteries and veins. Fistulas may prevent oxygenated blood from completely circulating throughout the brain. In embolization procedures, physicians use image guidance to place a small, soft metal coil at the site of a bulge or passageway, where it helps block the flow of blood and prevents a rupture of the vessel.

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Angiography is a minimally invasive medical test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions. Angiography uses one of three imaging technologies and, in some cases, a contrat material to produce pictures of major blood vessels throughout the body.

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Embolization is a minimally invasive treatment that blocks one or more blood vessels or vascular channels of abnormalities or malformations. In a catheter embolization procedure, medications or synthetic materials called “embolic agents” are placed through a catheter into a blood vessel to prevent blood flow to the area. Catheter embolization may be used alone or combined with other treatments such as surgery or radiation.

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Catheter-directed thrombolysis is a minimally invasive treatment that dissolves abnormal blood clots in blood vessels to help improve blood flow and prevent damage to tissues and organs. Untreated, a vascular blockage due to thrombosis or embolization, can result in the loss of an organ or extremity, with potentially life-threatening consequences. In a catheter-directed thrombolysis procedure, x-ray imaging is used to help guide a special medication or medical device to the site of blood clots to dissolve the blockage.

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Chemoembolization is a combination of local delivery of chemotherapy and a procedure called embolization to treat cancer, commonly often of the liver. In chemoembolization, anti-cancer drugs are injected directly into the blood vessel feeding a cancerous tumor. In addition, synthetic material called an embolic agent is placed inside the blood vessels that supply blood to the tumor, in effect trapping the chemotherapy in the tumor.

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In CT Aangiography (or CTA), computed tomography using a contrast material produces the detailed pictures. CT imaging uses special x-ray equipment to produce multiple images and a computer to join them together in multidimensional views.

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Cryotherapy (also called cryosurgery, cryoablation or targeted cryoablation therapy) is a minimally invasive treatment that uses extreme cold to freeze and destroy diseased tissue, including cancer cells. During cryotherapy, liquid nitrogen or argon gas is applied to diseased cells located outside or inside the body. Physicians use image-guidance techniques to help guide these freezing substances to treatment sites located inside the body.

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An epidural injection is delivered into the epidural space of the spine to provide temporary or prolonged relief from pain or inflammation. The epidural space is located outside the dural membrane. Steroids, anesthetics and anti-inflammatory medications are typically delivered in an epidural injection. The injection may reduce pain and swelling in and around the spinal nerve roots, as well as around damaged nerves which in time may heal. Imaging guidance, such as fluroscopy or computed tomography (CT or "CAT" scan), may be used to help the doctor place the needle in exactly the right location so the patient can receive maximum benefit from the injection.

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In magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), a powerful magnetic field, radio waves and a computer produce the detailed images. MR angiography does not use ionizing radiation or x-rays. MR angiography may be performed with or without contrast material. If needed, the contrast material is usually injected using a vein in the arm.

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A breast biopsy is performed to remove some cells—either surgically or through a less invasive procedure involving a hollow needle—from a suspicious area in the breast and examine them under a microscope to determine a diagnosis. Image-guided needle biopsy is not designed to remove the entire lesion, but most of a very small lesion may be removed in the process of biopsy. Image-guided biopsy is performed when the abnormal area in the breast is too small to be felt, making it difficult to locate the lesion by hand or by palpation.

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A lung nodule is an area of abnormal tissue located within the lung. Lung nodules are most often detected on a chest x-ray and do not typically cause pain or other symptoms. Nodules or abnormalities in the body are often detected by imaging examinations. However, it is not always possible to tell from these imaging tests whether a nodule is benign or cancerous. A needle biopsy or a needle aspiration, involves removing some cells—either surgically or in a less invasive procedure involving a hollow needle—from a suspicious area within the body and examining them under a microscope to determine a diagnosis. In a needle biopsy of lung nodules, imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT) and fluoroscopy are often used to help guide the interventional radiologist's instruments to the site of the abnormal growth.

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A nerve block is an anesthetic or anti-inflammatory injection targeted toward a certain nerve or group of nerves to treat pain. The purpose of the injection is to "turn off" a pain signal coming from a specific location in the body or to decrease inflammation in that area. People who suffer from either acute or chronic pain might have a nerve block injection to achieve temporary pain relief. Delivering a nerve block injection allows a damaged nerve time to heal itself from a state of constant irritation.

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Phlebectomy is a minimally invasive procedure used to remove varicose veins on the surface of the leg. This is usually done in a physician’s office using local anesthesia. Phlebectomy involves making tiny punctures or incisions in the skin near the varicose vein. Veins are very collapsible and even large veins can be removed through the tiny incisions used in this technique.

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Radiofrequency ablation (or RFA) is a minimally invasive treatment for cancer. It is an image-guided technique that heats and destroys cancer cells. In radiofrequency ablation, imaging techniques such as ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are used to help guide a needle electrode into a cancerous tumor. High-frequency electrical currents are then passed through the electrode, creating heat that destroys the abnormal cells.

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Sclerotherapy is used to improve the cosmetic appearance of spider veins and to relieve some of the symptoms associated with spider veins, including aching, burning, swelling and night cramps. It is a minimally invasive treatment used to treat varicose and spider veins. The procedure involves the injection of a solution directly into the affected veins, causing them to shrink and eventually disappear.

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In stereotactic breast biopsy, a special mammography machine uses ionizing radiation to help guide the radiologist instruments to the site of the abnormal growth.

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In a TIPS procedure, interventional radiologists use image guidance to make a tunnel through the liver to connect the portal vein (the vein that carries blood from the digestive organs to the liver) to one of the hepatic veins (three veins that carry blood away from the liver back to the heart). A stent (a small, tubular metal device) is then placed in this tunnel to keep the pathway open.

Patients who typically need a TIPS have portal hypertension, increased pressure in the portal vein. This pressure causes blood to flow backward from the liver into the veins of the spleen, stomach, lower esophagus, and intestines, causing enlarged vessels, bleeding and the accumulation of fluid in the chest or abdomen.

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In ultrasound-guided breast biopsy, ultrasound imaging is used to help guide the radiologists instruments to the site of the abnormal growth.

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Uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) is a minimally invasive treatment for fibroid tumors of the uterus .
Fibroid tumors, also known as myomas, are benign tumors that arise from the muscular wall of the uterus. It is extremely rare for them to turn cancerous. More commonly, they cause heavy menstrual bleeding, pain in the pelvic region, and pressure on the bladder or bowel. In a UFE procedure, physicians use an x-ray camera called a fluoroscope to guide the delivery of small particles to the uterus and fibroids. UFE is typically offered to women who no longer wish to become pregnant or who want or need to avoid having a hysterectomy, which is the operation to remove the uterus.

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Varicocele embolization is an image-guided procedure that uses a catheter to place a tiny coil and/or embolic fluid in a blood vessel to divert blood flow away from a varicocele. A varicocele vein is an enlarged and lengthened vein in a man’s scrotum. It can cause pain, swelling and infertility. Varicocele embolization safely relieves that pain and swelling and may improve sperm quality for infertile couples.

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Varicose vein treatment, or endovenous ablation, is a minimally invasive treatment that uses radiofrequency or laser energy to cauterize (burn) and close abnormally enlarged veins in the legs, or varicose veins. Endovenous ablation is an image-guided procedure that uses heat generated by radiofrequency or laser energy to seal off these faulty vessels, diverting blood flow immediately to nearby healthy veins.

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A vascular access procedure involves the insertion of a flexible thin plastic tube, or catheter, into a blood vessel to provide a painless way of drawing blood or delivering drugs and nutrients into a patient's bloodstream over a period of weeks, months or even years. In a vascular access procedure, a special catheter is inserted inside a major vein (generally in one of the large veins in the neck or in the arm) extending into the large central vein near the heart.

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Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty are minimally invasive procedures for vertebral compression fractures (or VCF), which are fractures in vertebra, the small bones that make up the spinal column. Vertebroplasty involves injecting a special cement mixture into the small holes in weakened vertebrae to strengthen the spinal bones making them less likely to fracture again and providing pain relief. Using image-guidance, a hollow needle called a trocar is passed through the skin into the spinal bone and a cement mixture is then injected into the vertebra. In kyphoplasty, a balloon is first inserted through the tube and into the fractured vertebra where it is inflated to push the bone back to its normal height and shape. The balloon is then removed and the cement is inserted into the cavity created by the balloon.

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