Cincinnati Children's and GE HealthCare are launching a groundbreaking strategic research program to establish the nation's first pediatric Care Innovation Hub. This collaboration focuses on driving clinical and technical research to improve pediatric care delivery across multiple medical imaging modalities, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, molecular imaging (MI), and computed tomography (CT).
This new model for collaboration leverages the strengths of both organizations to accelerate innovation and scientific advancements specifically designed for pediatric patients. The partnership addresses the unique challenges of pediatric imaging, recognizing that children present a wide range of sizes and positioning needs that make them a particularly challenging patient population. The "built for kids" mission aims to drive innovations in diagnostic imaging that can potentially be applied beyond pediatric use cases.
The Care Innovation Hub is structured around four key pillars:
In MRI development, the partnership will focus on designing and testing high-density MR coil arrays specifically for children, improving patient comfort while enabling more precise images in smaller patients. The collaboration will emphasize developing motion-robust imaging techniques for faster, high-quality exams that address the challenges of imaging young patients.
For ultrasound solutions, the radiology and cardiology departments at Cincinnati Children's will work with GE HealthCare on product development with early clinical feedback specific to pediatric applications. This will guide future features and devices, including AI algorithms, while improving ultrasound capabilities for gathering measurable data, particularly in liver imaging techniques.
In molecular imaging, the partnership will evaluate new technologies in positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). This includes exploring personalized treatment plans based on optimized software workflows, improving image reconstruction, and developing evidence demonstrating the utility of these advanced imaging techniques for pediatric applications.
For computed tomography, researchers will focus on optimizing and automating CT workflows specifically for pediatric patients and their healthcare providers. The team will evaluate new CT technology in a pediatric context and disseminate best practices to healthcare providers globally.
"Collaborating with GE HealthCare is an opportunity to leverage Cincinnati Children's clinical and research capabilities and participate in technology development with a global imaging leader. Rather than having to adapt techniques created for adults to pediatric use as is usually necessary, access to the latest technology at earlier stages of development will allow us to create pediatric-focused imaging technology from the beginning," said Brian Coley, MD, Radiologist-in-Chief at Cincinnati Children's. "Once developed, this partnership will foster translation into the broader pediatric healthcare ecosystem, bringing these advances to pediatric imaging worldwide and making the impact that Cincinnati Children's, as a research powerhouse, is known for."
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