Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology: There's an App for That

Society of Interventional Radiology's Flagship Publication Delivers Research Fast

FAIRFAX, Va., Sept. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As tablet ownership trends away from early adopters and moves to the mainstream, the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology has debuted a new app, available for iPad users, that will allow readers to access interventional radiology literature and multimedia—when they choose, ensuring fast, convenient access to up-to-the-minute peer-reviewed articles, podcasts, images and more.

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"Getting the science, research and innovation of interventional radiology out to readers faster reinforces the Society of Interventional Radiology's strategies to become the first choice in image-guided therapy for patients and medical professionals," said SIR President Marshall E. Hicks, M.D., FSIR, who represents the society's nearly 5,000 scientists and allied health professionals dedicated to improving health care through minimally invasive treatments. "This is an innovative use of technology that correlates directly with our mission to advocate the value of our specialty," added Hicks, an interventional radiologist and head of the division of diagnostic imaging at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

"This is absolutely the right time to release the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology's new app. It will serve our readers and the Society of Interventional Radiology's global mission to make the highest quality interventional radiologic and endovascular science reasonably and readily available to practitioners around the world," said editor in chief Ziv J Haskal, M.D., FSIR. "Giving our current subscribers a mobile option for delivering the virtual JVIR experience is paramount. Now, the journal can be read with just a tap on the screen—wherever and whenever you want. Our hope is that increased access will also allow new subscribers, especially those around the world and in other specialties, to discover JVIR," he added.

"This new platform takes JVIR to the next level. We all know print is not dead, but with 24,000 scholarly peer-reviewed journals with online versions, we also know that we need to be where our readers can find us. This app allows users to get JVIR fast—to read new issues and articles as they are released. Readers can browse the latest issue as their schedule allows," said Haskal, vice chair of strategic development and chief of vascular and interventional radiology, image-guided therapy and interventional oncology at the University of Maryland Medical Center, both in Baltimore, as he described the app's unique features. "Readers can save articles on the mobile device, bookmark key articles, take notes and email useful articles or images. And, whether they want to play in-article podcasts, post useful articles to their own social media accounts, such as Facebook or Twitter, to share with contacts and colleagues, or simply search locally stored content, this is an invaluable way to get the most from a JVIR subscription," he said.

"JVIR continues innovating and maintains an ongoing commitment and dedication to adapting new technology in the delivery of high-quality scholarly works to readers around the globe," he added. JVIR's monthly iTunes podcasts series is available on the journal's website and the iTunes channel. Recent podcasts featured content from SIR's Annual Scientific Meeting, including new research about prostatic artery embolization as a treatment for men's enlarged prostate.

JVIR's impact factor rose in 2011 to 2.075, an increase from its 2010 score of 2.064 that marks JVIR's continuous rise. Impact factor—one of several ways to measure a journal's significance—is based on the number of article citations compared to the total number of articles published. The figures are provided by Journal Citation Reports^®, which offers a systematic, objective means to critically evaluate the world's leading journals, with quantifiable, statistical information based on citation data. "This increased ranking again speaks to JVIR's core strengths, its quality and tradition of excellence—factors that make it an essential resource for interventional radiologists, radiologists, cardiologists, leading vascular surgeons, neurosurgeons and other clinicians worldwide," said Haskal.

JVIR subscribers receive free access to journal content via the JVIR iPad app (free in the iTunes App Store). There is a cost to nonsubscribers to download content. The Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology is available online at www.JVIR.org. More information about the Society of Interventional Radiology and the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology can be found online at www.SIRweb.org.

About the Society of Interventional Radiology
Interventional radiologists are physicians who specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments. They offer the most in-depth knowledge of the least invasive treatments available coupled with diagnostic and clinical experience across all specialties. They use X-ray, MRI and other imaging to advance a catheter in the body, such as in an artery, to treat at the source of the disease internally. As the inventors of angioplasty and the catheter-delivered stent, which were first used in the legs to treat peripheral arterial disease, interventional radiologists pioneered minimally invasive modern medicine. Today, interventional oncology is a growing specialty area of interventional radiology. Interventional radiologists can deliver treatments for cancer directly to the tumor without significant side effects or damage to nearby normal tissue.

Many conditions that once required surgery can be treated less invasively by interventional radiologists. Interventional radiology treatments offer less risk, less pain and less recovery time compared to open surgery. Visit www.SIRweb.org.

SOURCE Society of Interventional Radiology