Interventional radiology emerged in 1964, when Charles Dotter defied sceptics and insisted that angiography, until then a purely diagnostic tool, could be used to actively treat patients.
Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, as it would later be called, was born.
Dotter’s revolutionary concept of “catheter therapy” soon sparked the development of other minimally invasive tools and techniques.
Hear Josef Rösch, a major figure in the field, recount some of the main breakthroughs:
Two societies initially represented interventional radiologists in Europe: the European College of Angiography and the European Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology. On April 24, 1985, the societies were officially merged during a
joint annual meeting and postgraduate course in Vienna, and the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe - CIRSE - came into existence. The new society had a combined membership of around 300.
On the occasion of CIRSE’s 30 year anniversary in 2015, Prof. Friedrich Olbert shared some of his favourite memories from the society’s first three decades.
In May 1986 the first CIRSE congress and joint meeting with the American SCVIR took place in Jerusalem, followed by meetings in Porto Cervo, Berlin, Paris, Brussels, and Oslo, with steadily rising attendance figures of up to 800.
Opening headquarters in Vienna in 2005 and hiring permanent staff marked a new era for CIRSE. The society’s emphasis on highly professional organisational services was soon reflected in robust congress attendance figures. Over 4,700 delegates attended CIRSE 2006 in Rome. At CIRSE 2009 in Lisbon, that number rose to 5,300. Almost 6,600 participants made it to CIRSE 2013 in Barcelona.
But mere numbers don’t tell the full story. Drawing on the expertise of several then newly-established committees, including one dedicated entirely to programme planning, the scientific programme of the CIRSE Annual Congress kept becoming increasingly comprehensive, multi-faceted, and interdisciplinary. In the following years, the society also introduced new, specialized conferences to focus in specific areas of interventional treatments. The European Conference on Interventional Oncology (ECIO) was established in 2008, the biennial International Conference on Complications in Interventional Radiology (ICCIR) was first introduced in 2010, and the European Conference on Embolotherapy (ET) followed in 2019 as a continuation of GEST Europe. The Interdisciplinary Endovascular Aortic Symposium was added as a congress within the congress to the CIRSE Annual Congress in 2015.
Investments in member services, including the addition of group membership, attracted practitioners from all over the globe, and encouraged increased participation by national IR societies.
Membership rapidly expanded, increasing from around 1,500 in 2005 to almost 10,000 today, including growing numbers from outside of Europe.
While delivering outstanding educational programmes remains CIRSE’s key priority, the society has also become an important representative of the IR community in diverse contexts, including standard setting, guideline and policy development, research, and collaboration with other organisations.
We very much appreciate that CIRSE’s growth and its numerous initiatives would not have been possible without the dedication and professionalism of our members. Here’s to many more years of excellence and innovation in interventional radiology!
Highlights
2006 Rome | IT
The Palazzo dei Congressi served as an impressive backdrop for the first CIRSE Annual Meeting under the administration of the newly established CIRSE office in Vienna.
2007 Athens | GR
Dimitris Kelekis, Elias Brountzos and Katerina Malagari served as Local Hosts for this unforgettable Annual Meeting.
2008 Copenhagen | DK
Technological innovation loomed large in Copenhagen, with the event featuring a particularly extensive technical exhibition.
2009 Lisbon | PT
Attendance soared at the 2009 Annual Meeting, with over 5,300 delegates participating.
2010 Valencia | ES
The mood was celebratory at the Annual Meeting in Valencia, which marked CIRSE’s 25th anniversary.
2011 Munich | DE
CIRSE 2011 boasted record-breaking attendance of almost 6,200 delegates and a cutting-edge technical exhibition that featured 30 new product launches.
2012 Lisbon | PT
5,600 m² of exhibition space provided ample room for the 115 exhibitors to showcase their latest technical innovations.
2013 Barcelona | ES
With almost 6,600 delegates from 94 countries, attendance exceeded all previous records.
2014 Glasgow | UK
Glasgow provided a unique backdrop for this memorable congress.
2015 Lisbon | PT
CIRSE celebrated its 30th Anniversary, welcoming more than 6,000 delegates to Lisbon!
2016 Barcelona | ES
Barcelona provided the perfect place for participants to enjoy the vast world of interventional radiology.
2017 Copenhagen | DK
CIRSE 2017 called IRs to Copenhagen, once again capturing the attention of medical professionals from around the globe.
2018 Lisbon | PT
Lisbon again provided an excellent opportunity to bring IRs from around the world together to meet, share and connect.
2019 Barcelona | ES
CIRSE 2019 was the largest congress to date, welcoming more than 7,000 delegates from 96 countries to Barcelona.
2020 Online
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CIRSE 2020 was offered entirely online, including a digital exhibition. A very small group of the CIRSE leadership convened in Vienna for daily telecasts from a studio set up for this purpose in the Vienna office.
2021 Online
With travel restrictions still in place for large parts of the world in 2021, CIRSE 2021 was again hosted online with the CIRSE leadership discussing the sessions via short programmes streaming from Vienna.
2022 Barcelona | ES
In 2022, to everyone’s delight, the CIRSE Annual Congress was finally able to return to an in-person format. To accommodate to healthcare professionals who could not attend on site, a hybrid format was adopted, allowing attendees to stream sessions live and on demand.
2023 Copenhagen | DK
Under the slogan Building better care, CIRSE 2023 provided a series of lectures focusing on the provision of clinical care in interventional radiology, new session formats, and a fantastic line-up for students wishing to learn more about the specialty.
2024 Lisbon | PT
In 2024, the CIRSE Annual Congress offered the most comprehensive programme to date, attracting more healthcare professionals than ever before.
2025 Barcelona | ES
We look forward to celebrating 40 years of pioneering excellence at CIRSE 2025 in Barcelona!
DISCLAIMER
This website was developed to celebrate CIRSE’s 40th anniversary, and aims to tell the organisation’s story by presenting highlights from the history of both the annual meetings and the field of IR. This website does not present the full story of either, and CIRSE accepts no liability for any misrepresentations or errors contained herein. Please send any comments you have to us at [email protected].