Available Equipment

Main Campus MRI

The Department of Radiology, located on the ground floor of the hospital’s main building, currently operates five MRI platforms. All platforms have a wide array of receiver coils tailored for head, neck, torso, and extremity imaging. All rooms are equipped with anesthesia equipment.

  • GE 1.5T (MRI Green) -60 cm bore, installed in 1992, HD23 platform, upgraded in 2016. Gradient strength: 33 mT/m, slew rate: 200 T/m/s, max FOV: 48 cm. Capable of advanced cardiac imaging, quantitative T2* mapping, advanced neural applications including DWI, MRS, 2D ASL, and 32- and 64-dir DTI.
  • GE 1.5T (MRI Teal) -60 cm bore, installed in 1998. Most recent upgrade in 2016 to the “Explorer Lift” platform with HD23 software. Gradient strength: 50 mT/m, slew rate: 200 T/m/s, max FOV: 48 cm. Capable of advanced cardiac imaging, quantitative T2* mapping, advanced neural applications including DWI, DCE/DSC, MRS, 2D ASL, and 32- and 64-dir DTI.
  • GE 3T (MRI Orange)- 60 cm bore, installed in 2005. Most recent upgrade in 2015 to the DV25 “Discovery” platform. Gradient strength: 50 mT/m, slew rate: 200 T/m/s, max FOV: 48 cm. Options include T1, T2, and T2* mapping, 32- and 64-dir DTI, DCE/DSC, 2D ASL, fMRI, MRS, MR Elastography, and hepatic fat fraction quantification (IDEAL Quant, e.g. multi-echo Dixon technique).
  • Siemens 3T (MRI Blue)– SKYRA platform, 70 cm bore, installed in 2014. Currently running VE11A platform with planned upgrade to VE11C in October 2017). Gradient strength: 45 mT/m, slew rate: 200 T/m/s, max FOV 48 cm. Options include advanced cardiac package, T1, T2, and T2* mapping, DWI, SWI, 32- and 64-dir DTI, multi-band capability, DCE and DSC, 2D and 3D ASL, fMRI, MRS, and metal-artifact reduction sequences.
  • Siemens 3T (MRI Yellow)– PRISMA platform, 60 cm bore, installed in 2017. Currently running VE11C platform. Gradient strength: 80 mT/m, slew rate: 200 T/m/s, max FOV 48 cm. Options include advanced cardiac package, MR elastography, multi-nuclear capability, T1, T2, and T2* mapping, DWI, SWI, 32-, 64-, and 128-dir DTI, multi-band (i.e. simultaneous multi-slice) capability, DCE and DSC, 2D and 3D ASL, fMRI, MRS, and metal-artifact reduction sequences. Dedicated research days Tuesday – Thursday.
  • Siemens 1.5T Espree- 70 cm bore, IMRIS intraoperative magnet, installed in rate: 200 T/m/s, max FOV 48 cm.
  • GE 1.5T -60 cm bore, installed in 2006 at Westerville “Close to Home” satellite center. Most recent upgrade in 2016 to the “Explorer Lift” platform. Gradient strength: 50 mT/m, slew rate: 200 T/m/s, max FOV 48 cm.

The Department of Radiology additionally operates two MRI units, one in an intraoperative suite, and one in a satellite outpatient facility.

Additional Equipment

  • A mock scanner is available and used by Child Life services to simulate MRI examinations for pediatric patients.
  • In Vivo Sensavue hardware and software is used for fMRI task presentation.

CT Scanners

The Department of Radiology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital currently operates two CT scanners. They are both located on the main campus.

  • GE Discovery CT750 HD - installed in 2012. 64-slice CT unit capable of producing High Definition images while incorporating several methods of radiation dose reduction --- ASIR Veo and iterative reconstruction --- without sacrificing image quality. Another dose reducing technology is Smart mA, to allow for the lowest dose possible across anatomy. The Discovery is capable of CT Fluoroscopy for Interventional Radiology procedures.
  • Toshiba Aquillion One - installed in 2014. 640-slice CT scanner capable of imaging 16cm of coverage in a single 0.35 sec rotation. System is equipped with cardiac gating and allows for patient motion correction and “freezing” of respiratory motion, ultimately reducing the need for sedation. Sure Exposure® and AiDR 3D®, an iterative reconstruction process, allow for meaningful dose reduction while maintaining diagnostic image quality.

Nuclear Medicine

  • GE Discovery 690 (PET/CT scanner) - Installed June 2012, 64 slice CT system, full 2 meter scan range, respiratory gating, ASIR reconstruction, Time of Flight (TOF) capability, and PET VCAR (volume computer assisted reading)
  • GE Discovery 670 (SPECT/CT scanner) - Installed June 2012, dual head gamma camera, 16 slice CT, evolution for bone (allows for dose or imaging time to be reduced), Xeleris Processing station version of software 3.1.
  • GE Discovery 630 (SPECT/CT scanner) - Installed June 2012, dual head gamma camera, Xeleris Processing station version of software 3.1.
  • GE Millennium MPR Gamma Camera - Installed February 2010, single-head multi-purpose Nuclear Medicine system, Xeleris Processing station version of software 3.1.

Ultrasound

The Department of Radiology houses 6 Ultrasound rooms, with a total of 10 machines located on main campus and an additional 3 at satellite locations. The US equipment is upgraded annually and has the latest software. Currently we utilize Siemens ACUSON S2000 units with ARFI capabilities, Philips EPIQ 7 with 3D capabilities, and Zonare/Mindray portable units. Our technologists are trained in every aspect of sonographic imaging and are innovative in their approach to research, regardless of whether it is a “typical” protocol or a study-specific request. Additional cardiac ultrasonography is provided by Cardiology