Interventional radiology in the austere environment.

Natural disasters, political turmoil, economic strife, and armed conflicts abound throughout the world. In efforts to ease human suffering and care for wounded soldiers, there is a significant demand for the delivery of high-quality medical care in environmentally challenging situations. Humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and combat operations present three unique settings for the practice of modern medicine. As a subspecialty that has become integral to the delivery of high-quality health care, it is incumbent on interventional radiologists to seek ways to adapt their specialty to the austere environment. Advances in technology coupled with cognitive ingenuity have enabled interventional radiologists to move out of the medical center and into tents, ships, and battlefields.