Arteriography is a minimally invasive test in which an arteriogram or "road map" of the arteries is made. These images of blood vessels are obtained with x-rays as contrast material is injected into the blood vessels.

Embolization is a way of occluding (closing) one or more blood vessels that are doing more harm than good. Various materials may be used, depending on whether vessel occlusion is to be temporary or permanent, or whether large or small vessels are being treated. Catheter embolization may be used as the sole treatment or may be combined with other treatments such as surgery or radiation.

Chemotherapy drugs are injected directly into the artery that supplies blood to the tumor in the liver. This results in a high dose of chemotherapy directly delivered to the tumor cells with minimal side effects affecting the rest of the body.

With the help of image guidance a catheter is placed in a vein which can be used for hemodialysis.

For patients suffering from varicose veins, new techniques that treat the veins from the inside, called endovenous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and laser ablation offer less invasive alternatives to standard surgery.

Ultrasound, CT and fluoroscopy not only take internal images of the body, but can guide minimally invasive, percutaneous (through the skin) biopsies. A small needle can be placed through the skin into a suspected abnormal growth in the body. Cells aspirated into the needle are analyzed by a pathologist under a microscope.

All solitary chest nodules are considered potentially malignant until proven otherwise, and for this a needle biopsy may be required. A biopsy involves removing a small piece of tissue for examination by a physician. A needle biopsy, sometimes called a needle aspiration, is the easiest way that tissue can be safely removed from the body.

Radiofrequency ablation is a new way to treat liver cancer. A special needle electrode is placed in the tumor under the guidance of an imaging method such as ultrasound or computed tomography (CT). The tumor cells are killed by heat around the electrode tip and turn into scar tissue.

A transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is a type of radiologic bypass that helps treat a condition known as portal hypertension, which is most commonly caused by cirrhosis of the liver.

A vascular access procedure is designed for patients who need intravenous (IV) access for a considerable time, longer than seven to 10 days. A simple IV is effective in the short term but is far from ideal when, for instance, a patient needs a course of chemotherapy, several weeks of IV antibiotic treatment or long-term IV feeding.

Varicoceles are dilated blood vessels (varicose veins) in the scrotum. These can be treated with embolization by an interventional radiologist.

Vertebroplasty is an image-guided, minimally invasive, nonsurgical therapy used to strengthen a broken vertebra (spinal bone) that has been weakened by osteoporosis or, less commonly, cancer.

Uterine artery embolization is a non-surgical treatment for uterine leiomyomas (fibroids). Fibroids are non-cancerous tumors which may cause very heavy menstrual cycles, a condition called abnormal uterine bleeding.