9], who was a neurosurgeon by training and who had written the nal version of

the classic Krayenbuhl monograph on angiography: Peter Huber had won the Robert Bing Prize in 1968 and would retire in 1992; Peter Huber would be suc­ceeded by Professor Gerhard Schroth [10]. The division, which would become the institute it is today under the leadership of Gerhard Schroth, a specialist in Neurology and Neuroradiology who had trained in Tübingen in Germany; Gerhard Schroth had also spent 2years in Zürich with Anton Valavanis, and he would therefore develop intensively interventional techniques in Bern, especially for the treatment of stroke, as well as the use of MR techniques for improved diagnosis and management of patients with neurological diseases. The current chair of Neuroradiology in Bern is Prof Jan Gralla, who trained with Gerhard

The Zurich history of a close interaction between the basic and clinical Neurosciences and Neuroradiology is long: while Yasargil and Krayenbuhl per­fected cerebral angiography, Prof Wellauer would do the same for myelography: and as early as 1973, Dr. Othmar Schubiger would devote himself to neuroradiology and, as of 1977, exclusively; Othmar Schubiger would become the head of neurora­diology in Aarau between 1980 and 1986. Othmar Schubiger would then move to the Klinik, im Park in Zurich [13], being later succeeded in Aarau by A Mironov and L Remonda successively. The institute of Neuroradiology in Zurich would focus heavily on interventions of brain vascular malformations, the use of advanced MR techniques and Head and Neck imaging [14, 15], under the leadership of Prof Valavanis, Werner Wichmann; Spyros Kollias would introduce modern MR tech­niques such as fMRI and DTI at the Zurich institute [16]. Thierry Huisman would move to the USA as a pediatric neuroradiologist, rst at Johns Hopkins then at the Texas Children’s Hospital. Due to the high visibility achieved in interventional neu­roradiology by the Zurich institute [17–20], a yearly course on interventional neu­roradiology was established by Anton Valavanis that helped establish Zurich as a center for neuro-vascular interventions. Building on the Zurich tradition in neuro­sciences, Anton Valavanis would help create the Zurich Clinical Neurocenter that he would direct for many years. The current head of Neuroradiology in Zurich is Dr. Zsolt Kulcsar who had trained in Hungary and in Switzerland with Daniel Rüfenacht in Geneva. The Institute in Bern would be a pioneer in the use of intra-arterial treat­ments of ischemic diseases such as stroke, using either at rst intra-arterial throm­bolysis or later thrombectomy. The Division in Geneva would concentrate efforts on the minimal invasive treatment of among others aneurysms and also of diseases of the spine. In Basel, EW Radü was the director of the unit of neuroradiology at the Kantonsspital Basel as of 1984, and became Privat docent in 1986 and nally pro­fessor; EW Radü would concentrate his academic efforts on the study of

In the French part of Switzerland, Neuroradiology was structured initially slightly differently; in Geneva, neuroradiology was established at rst in the neu­rology department as early as 1963 and, after a succession of three neuroradiolo­gists, in 1972, Dr. Marcelle Megret was nominated chief of this division [21]. At the Cantonal Hospital of Geneva initially, the CT was installed on the second oor of the Geneva Cantonal Hospital in Neurology and the division was held by Drs. Marcelle Megret and Jacqueline Delavelle; upon the nomination of François Terrier in radiology, the CT was integrated in radiology; this, together with the acquisition of the MR unit, would allow full diagnostic work-up of neurological patients and neuroradiology would become a clearly dened unit of the division of radiology in 1989. With the growth of newer techniques, it became necessary also to establish knowledge in interventional neuroradiology: hence Daniel Rüfenacht, a scholar of Peter Huber in Bern and Jean-Jacues Merland in Paris [22–24], and who was working in Minnesota would be recruited to Geneva in 1992 and would be the rst academic division head and professor in neuroradiol­ogy in the French part of Switzerland. In Lausanne, neuroradiology was inte­grated in Radiology under the direction of Drs. Antoine Uske and Reto Meuli. Reto Meuli, a neuroradiologist with an extensive background in MR physics, would eventually also become the head of the radiology division of the CHUV in Lausanne. A notable trainee from Lausanne is Max Wintermark who is currently at the MD Anderson Institute and editor-in- chief of the AJNR. Prof Daniel Rüfenacht and Antoine Uske, who had both worked in Parie with Jean-Jacques Merland, would thus establish interventional neuroradiology in the French­speaking part of Switzerland and would collaborate closely during the establish­ment of their respective divisions. This was also central to the establishment of the “centre romand de neurochirurgie” (neurosurgical center of the French­speaking area (Romandie). The excellence in MRI in Geneva and Lausanne would help establish the Centre d’imagerie Bio-médicale (CIBM.ch) that exists to this day as a platform for basic and clinical research and for translational imaging in the Romandie. Professor Daniel Rüfenacht would introduce a proto­type at panel angiography room in 2008, the salle 37, which remained in func­tion until 2023. Daniel Rüfenacht also would introduce and popularize minimally invasive techniques such as vertebroplasty in Switzerland and also establish the international intracranial Stent meeting that runs until this day as well as founded the ESMINT society [25]. Among his notable trainees is Philippe Gailloud, cur­rently at the Johns Hospkins University. He would briey found the Service Neuro-interventionnel at the HUG, before moving to Zurich. Upon his departure, the Neuro-interventional division would be re-fusioned with diagnostic neurora­diology and the division would be led by Prof Karl-Olof Lövblad as of 2008; Karl-Olof Lövblad, having trained in Bern under the supervision of Gerhard Schroth, would do a fellowship in Boston with Professors Robert Edelman and Steven Warach, during which he would participate in the early pioneering studies

on the clinical use of diffusion-weighted MR imaging. Additionally, after mov­ing to Geneva and working for Daniel Rüfenacht, under his leadership, distinct units for diagnostic and interventional neuroradiology would be created. The interventional unit would be led by Prof Vitor Mendes Pereira (now in Toronto), Dr. Zsolt Kulcsar (nor in Zurich) and is currently led by Paolo Machi; the diag­nostic Unit was led successively by Drs. Jacqueline Delavelle, Karl Olof Lövblad, and Maria Vargas and is now led by Professor Felix Kurz. In the italian part of Switzerland, the Tessin, in Lugano, Neuroradiology was led by Claude Merenda (1941–2022), who introduced interventional neuroradiology techniques; upon the creation of the Neurocenter in Lugano under the auspices of Professor Claudio Bassetti, Neuroradiology as a division was formalized by Alessandro Cianfoni, who built up an impressive team encompassing all modalities of diag­nostic and interventional neuroradiology; Professor Cianfoni has a strong focus on spinal interventions.

In 1991, the subtitle of Neuroradiology was created and validated by the FMH (Foederatio Medicorum Helveticorum, the Swiss Medical Society), thereby offering physicians trained in radiology the possibility to subspecialize accord­ing to a clear curriculum. Neuroradiology was thus quickly recognized as a sub­specialty and board examinations were established, the rst being held in Zurich in 1997. Initially this subspecialty comprised all of neuroradiology, both diag­nostic and interventional. Due to a reform of the Swiss medical specialty system, in 1997, neuroradiology was elevated to a full specialty and remained so for 4years until 2001. When the nal revision of the Swiss medical specialties was nalized in 2001, Neuroradiology became composed of two subspecialities (Schwerpunkt in German; formation approfondie in French) of radiology, one for diagnostic and one for interventional (called invasive). Both subspecialities require initially to have obtained a certication as a specialist in radiology with additionally 2years of sub- specialization both in diagnostic and interventional neuroradiology at a postgraduate level with an oral exam for each sub-specialty; the prerequisite for obtaining the title in invasive neuroradiology being having rst obtained the sub-specialty in diagnostic neuroradiology. Training time in the subspecialty is at the moment 4years with, as stated above, 2years each in diag­nostic and interventional neuroradiology, 1 year in diagnostic neuroradiology can be accounted for during the training in diagnostic radiology if the curriculum is organized accordingly. The exact number of examinations and procedures per­formed are guided by a log-book. The Swiss Society of Neuroradiology manages the invasive (interventional) neuroradiology and co- manages the one in diagnos­tic Neuroradiology with the Swiss Society for Radiology. The training centers in Switzerland are recognized by the SIWF (the Swiss Institute for medical

The Swiss Society of Neuroradiology would edit its own yearly journal for a decade, Neuroradiologia Helvetica, before adopting Neuroradiology and Clinical Neuroradiology as its ofcial journals [30]. Current news of the Society are pub- lished on the website www.swissneuroradiology.ch. The society is also closely associated with the Journal Clinical and Translational Neurosciences that Anton Valavanis would help establish.