2025 February Newsletter

BSIR 2024

November saw the long-awaited return of the BSIR ASM to Brighton, with over 800 delegates filling the lecture theatres and exhibition hall at the Brighton Centre, just a few metres from the beach. This ASM featured a reprise of sessions (and the BSIR 5km run!) that had not been seen at BSIR for many years, as well as brand new sessions highlighting the incredible growth of IR since the inception of the BSIR ASM in 1988.

Kicking off the scientific programme was the President’s welcome from Professor Robert Morgan, followed by the much-anticipated Top 3 Journal Article session. This session provided all attendees with an academic “rocket fuel” boost, covering key studies published in the last 12 months on vascular interventions, interventional oncology, non-vascular interventions, and, for the first time, hot topics in non-clinical aspects of IR, including service provision and radiation protection. Professor Tze Wah, one of the world’s most respected and revered interventional oncologists, delivered an insightful Wattie Fletcher lecture based on her personal journey in clinical academia in IR. Her poignant lecture left every delegate inspired and daring to dream.

Another first for the BSIR ASM was a dedicated international IR session, where we heard from esteemed guest speakers from the Indian Society of Vascular IR, the Canadian Association for IR, and two UK-trained IRs working in East Africa. These speakers are providing emergency IR training to burgeoning IR departments, including ultrasound access, obstetric embolisation, and the provision of robust ongoing training to radiologists, helping to support and grow this work in the years to come.

Rounding off the fantastic plenary sessions was a presentation on the “Get It Right First Time” initiative, which Dr. Alex Barnacle is leading in the UK for the first time in interventional radiology.

The scientific programme featured excellent presentations from trainees and established consultants, showcasing the innovative work we do as a specialty in virtually every organ and pathology across healthcare. All attendees, along with the Scientific Programme Committee and moderators, had the opportunity to vote for the best scientific presentation via the BSIR app. The overall winning presentation was delivered by Dr. Tim Bryant, who presented his team's impressive deep dive post-hoc analysis of post-operative menorrhagia following uterine artery embolization for fibroids. Special mentions were given to Dr. Gilbran Tim Yusuf, who presented his team’s UK-leading experience with microwave ablation for thyroid nodules, and Dr. Bahir Almazeidi, who shared an impressive series of lower limb revascularisation procedures using drug-coated balloon and stent technologies.

The junior and trainee scientific programme was seamlessly integrated into the ASM, and the quality of the winning presentations was a testament to our trainees' dedication to academic excellence. The best junior category was awarded to Dr. Euan Smyth for his presentation on the analysis of limb graft occlusion after endovascular aneurysm repair. Dr. Yiwang Xu won the best trainee presenter award for his work on the guidelines and results of SIRT in HCC treatment, while Mr. Bailey Carter won the Robert Bardsley Award for his research on the exvivo comparison of cutting needles for percutaneous core biopsy.

The ASM was generously supported by our industry partners, and the scientific programme greatly benefited from the support of our allied healthcare specialists, including nursing and radiography professionals, as well as our treasured clinical specialty colleagues who contributed valuable surgical and medical insights through lively multidisciplinary discussions.

The Scientific Programme Committee would like to extend its thanks for the unwavering support from Nike Alesbury, the President, Vice-President, Executive Officers, Julie Ellison, Abbey Templar-Phillips and the CIRSE team.

We look forward to seeing you again in Liverpool and this time no excuses, bring your trainers!

Dr Conrad von StempelPast Chair of the Scientific Programme Committee (SPC)

Dr Matthew GibsonSPC Chair 2025