Radiology

Who we are

The Department of Radiology provides a full range of imaging services for newborns, infants, children, teens, young adults and pregnant women at Children's Hospital Boston and our satellite clinics in Lexington, Peabody and Waltham. Our experienced team performs and interprets more than 200,000 imaging studies each year, using the latest equipment and techniques specially designed or adapted for pediatric use.

We understand that imaging children poses unique challenges. It can be hard for children to hold still for an x-ray, or they may be frightened by the noise of an MRI. We know just how to make your child's experience as safe and pleasant as possible while obtaining the high-quality images needed to rule out, diagnose or treat diseases.

Our team includes pediatric radiologists (radiologists with additional training in childhood anatomy and diseases), pediatric neuroradiologists, pediatric interventional radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, nurse practitioners, technologists, nurses and child life specialists. We work together with you, your child and your referring doctor to obtain the best possible and most appropriate images for an accurate diagnosis.

Our expertise

• Kids! Our imaginative décor, knowledgeable staff and dedicated child life specialists help make your child's experience as enjoyable as possible.
• Safety: Some types of imaging studies require the use of radiation. For these exams, we have adapted our equipment and techniques to keep the radiation dose as low as possible. We use "child sized" doses for x-rays, CT scans and nuclear medicine studies.
• Pediatric sedation and anesthesia: Our staff is skilled at helping young children stay motionless for imaging studies, employing age-appropriate distraction techniques that include video goggles, music and lighting. But if your child requires sedation or anesthesia, it will be administered by an experienced team of sedation nurse practitioners, nurses and anesthesiologists.
• Organ-based interpretation: Our unique approach to pediatric radiology means that a radiologist with subspecialty expertise in the disease or organ system under investigation will interpret your child's study.