Soris Pain & Vascular Institute is led by two of the most recognized names in musculoskeletal embolization: Dr. Yuji Okuno, our Founding Physician, and Dr. Osman Ahmed, our Chief Medical Officer.
Leadership
Leadership That Shapes the Field
Key opinion leader (KOL) leadership means the physicians who advance a technique also set the standard for how it is practiced. At Soris Pain & Vascular Institute, the specialists who helped establish MSK embolization define the protocols our clinics follow.
Under this leadership, our network physicians are trained in advanced MSK embolization procedures and receive ongoing protocol refinements. It shapes how we perform genicular artery embolization, shoulder artery embolization, and the other catheter-based pain treatments in our MSK embolization program.
CUC America, the parent company to Soris Pain & Vascular Institute, announced strategic collaborations with Dr. Yuji Okuno and Dr. Osman Ahmed. These collaborations advance MSK embolization and expand access to minimally invasive pain treatment across the United States.
Why This Leadership Matters to Patients
Protocol accuracy improves when physicians train with the specialists who pioneered the technique. Patients at Soris Pain & Vascular Institute receive embolization procedures that follow peer-reviewed methodology rather than adapted interpretations.
For Physicians
Soris Pain & Vascular Institute is building office-based labs across major cities in the United States, and we are looking for interventional radiologists, interventional cardiologists, and vascular surgeons to lead them.
Under the clinical leadership of Dr. Okuno and Dr. Ahmed, partnering physicians receive structured training in MSK embolization while Soris provides the operational support and capital for site development, equipment acquisition, and initial operational costs.
Dr. Yuji Okuno, MD, PhD — Founding Physician
Dr. Okuno is the pioneer of genicular artery embolization for knee osteoarthritis and the Chief Director of the Okuno Clinic in Tokyo. His published research advanced the safety and efficacy of targeting abnormal neovascularity in arthritic joints, laying the foundation for the global clinical field of MSK embolization.
He has performed thousands of MSK embolization procedures and has trained interventionalists across Asia, Europe, and North America in his technique. At CIRSE 2023 in Copenhagen he received the Award of Excellence and Innovation in Interventional Radiology, the society's recognition of work that materially changed clinical practice.
As Founding Physician, Dr. Okuno sets the technical standard for embolization at Soris Pain & Vascular Institute. Under Dr. Okuno's leadership, our physicians are thoroughly trained in his pioneer techniques, keeping our GAE protocols true to the original standard.
Further reading: Dr. Yuji Okuno receives the Award of Excellence and Innovation in IR
Dr. Osman Ahmed, MD, FSIR, FCIRSE — Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Ahmed is a recognized authority in MSK embolization and procedural innovation. His work expands the clinical applications of embolization across multiple joint and vascular targets. He is also a Professor of Radiology at the University of Utah.
He has been recognized as a leader in the interventional radiology community, having been selected for the Society of Interventional Radiology's Leadership and Development Academy and named the 2020 recipient of the Gary Becker Young Investigator Award. He serves as a Deputy Editor for the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, SIR's flagship publication, which also recognized him as a Top Reviewer from 2016 through 2020. He is additionally an Associate Editor for the Arab Journal of Interventional Radiology and CVIR Endovascular.
His clinical and research interests include catheter-based treatments for venous thromboembolism, caval filter retrieval, musculoskeletal interventions, health economics, embolization, and interventional oncology.
As Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ahmed translates that research into the treatment planning standards our clinics use for embolization procedures to treat chronic pain.
Further reading: Dr. Osman Ahmed, Argon Medical · Award-winning MSK embolization research