Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts Washington Dc

Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology

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Common Questions for Imaging and Radiology

Scheduling an exam for your child? Hither are some common questions (and answers) we hear from parents.

The Division of Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology has a team of expert physicians, board-certified pediatric radiologists, technologists, anesthesiologists and nurses who are specialty-trained to provide pediatric radiology services for infants, children and adolescents. Services are offered at the main hospital, as well as outpatient imaging at the Montgomery Canton and Prince George's Canton locations.

Imaging and Radiology Services

Nosotros provide the highest level of care in the safest possible environment for your child. Though radiology exams for adults and children generally share the same name, pediatric patients require a unlike arroyo.

Our patient and family-centered facility has the nearly advanced radiology equipment in an environment designed for children, and our pediatric radiologists use the lowest radiations dose possible to obtain first-class image quality.

Our equipment is state-of-the-art and includes a broad bore three Tesla MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanner with a larger opening to assist make patients more than comfortable. Our dual-head gamma camera and SPECT/CT scanner offer loftier resolution molecular imaging scans that allow for more precise diagnosis. The Elsie and Marvin Dekelboum Family Foundation Molecular Imaging Center (MIC) also has the power to perform diagnostic CT scans on the same scanner used to perform molecular imaging scans, which helps decrease sedation fourth dimension for patients needing scans in both of these and eliminates the need to transport your kid while he or she is sedated.

In addition to this technology, the MIC has avant-garde imaging software that performs multimodality fusion of molecular imaging data with CT and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) studies, as well as 3D rendering and tracking over fourth dimension.

Children'due south National as well has the gold standard for functional brain imaging. The applied science allows for faster scans while still generating high quality, detailed images, particularly valuable for our small patients. Our imaging and radiology services include:

CT browse (computerized tomography)
Cardiac imaging
DEXA-scan (bone scan)
Diagnostic X-rays
Fetal MRI and ultrasound
Fluoroscopy
MRI
Neuroimaging
Nuclear medicine
Orthopaedic imaging
PET scan (positron emission tomography)
SPECT/CT scanner
SPECT dual-head gamma scanner
Rheumatology imaging
Ultrasound

Transport Us Your Imaging Exams

Children's National Infirmary makes it like shooting fish in a barrel for patients, families and referring physicians to electronically commutation medical images and other wellness-related records with our providers earlier your initial consultation or follow-upward visit. Learn more about this secure HIPAA-compliant service.

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An Environment Dedicated to Children

Our Elsie and Marvin Dekelboum Family Foundation Molecular Imaging Centre and PULSE Center offers the well-nigh cutting-edge molecular imaging technologies in an environs designed for children. The rooms have been designed with an ocean theme to help comfort and calm young patients during scanning procedures, with pictures of dolphins, whales and other animals. There are also bioluminescent lights in an attempt to have a calming result on our young patients, their families and our staff.

Our Specialists

Children'due south National Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology offers a specialized staff, full-time Child Life Specialist and Castilian-speaking receptionist. When a procedure, such as a MRI, requires sedation, Children's National is the just hospital in the Washington, D.C., area that guarantees your kid'south anesthesia is administered by a fellowship-trained pediatric anesthesiologist at whatsoever time of the day or night. Pediatric anesthesiologists are physicians who complete training beyond the regular form of educational activity for an anesthesiologist.

Children's National also has one of the few radiology programs in the Usa with physicists on staff. Our physicists confirm patient safety through conscientious monitoring of all equipment. A physicist supervises radiation safety on all X-ray machines, and answers parents' questions about the radiations dose for an exam. Some other physicist is solely dedicated to MRI, ensuring safe and constructive application of the MRI technique.

Other members of the segmentation'southward highly skilled team include:

Pediatric physicians board-certified past the American Board of Radiology with additional qualifications in surgical (interventional), fetal, cardiac and neurological radiology
Nurses trained to care for the unique health needs of younger radiology patients
Technologists who know how to reduce a child'south anxiety while they perform a procedure
Administrative staff who ensure examination results are provided quickly to your kid's doc

Nuclear Medicine Program

Children'southward National has a long history of providing subspecialty care in nuclear medicine, with one of the largest volumes of pediatric nuclear medicine procedures in the country.

Children's nuclear medicine squad is comprised of world-renowned leaders in nuclear medicine, including radiologists Eglal Shalaby-Rana, Thousand.D., and Pranav Vyas, M.D.

How Nuclear Medicine is Helpful

Nuclear medicine is sometimes a better examination in the diagnosis and treatment of certain weather compared to other imaging techniques. However, nuclear medicine scans are commonly performed in combination with other imaging tests and procedures, such as MRI.

In nuclear medicine, nuclear radiologists place an energy source (a radioactive substance) within the body, normally through an Four injection. All radioactive substances emit energy, such every bit gamma rays or gamma radiation. Using special cameras, Children's technologists can take a picture of the gamma rays to see how the torso absorbs, reflects and scatters the energy inside the body.

The program offers specially designed pediatric equipment, equally well equally nuclear medicine technologists with the expertise to safely care for smaller, younger patients. Our defended team obtains loftier-quality images using the minimum amount of radiation and sedation.

The people and personal attention are what make Children's National unique. Nuclear medicine is not-invasive and painless, but nosotros still brand sure you and your child are assured through every stage of a process. You tin even stay with your child during the scan.

ACR Gold Seal of Accreditation

David Wessel, M.D., Senior Vice President of the Center for Hospital-Based Specialties, is pleased to denote that the American Higher of Radiology's (ACR) Commission on Quality and Rubber has granted accreditation to the following diagnostic imaging programs for a 3-twelvemonth term:

MRI
Ultrasound
Computed Tomography
Nuclear Medicine

Attaining the ACR Gilded Seal of Accreditation is an backbreaking process that involves submission of physician and staff credentials, safety policies, detailed quality assurance records for each scanner, radiation dose calibrations for the ionizing radiation-producing scanners and multiple samples of actual clinical images from each scanner. All information and images submitted are analyzed by a grouping of expert radiologists and medical imaging physicists who determine if the site meets the highest standards of quality and safety.

Children's National Uses Focused Ultrasound for Pediatric Non-invasive Brain Tumor Surgery

Our pediatric experts are using high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) surgery to successfully treat brain tumors without incisions or radiation. (Image provided by Insightec.)

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