Computed Tomography (CT or CAT Scan)

Who we are

Computed Tomography (CT) at Children's Hospital Boston helps doctors quickly answer urgent questions about your child's health. In just seconds or minutes, CT scans can produce incredibly detailed, three-dimensional images of your child's bone, tissue and blood vessels. CT exams in our powerful multi-detector scanners are quick, painless and non-invasive.

When you bring your child to Children's Boston location or to our clinic in Waltham for a CT scan, you are be seen by our experienced pediatric team of radiologists, technologists and nurses, who pair expert imaging with child-friendly care. Everything we do has been designed with our young patients in mind.

Our expertise

Safety: CT uses ionizing radiation (x-rays), and children are more sensitive to ionizing radiation than adults. Our physicians and physicists have acted as leaders in adjusting equipment and procedures to deliver the lowest possible dose to young patients. We helped develop Image Gently guidelines so hospitals across the country can minimize children's exposure to radiation during medical procedures.

Sedation: Sometimes, babies and children need to be sedated so they can be motionless during the CT scan. We have a highly experienced team of pediatric sedation nurses, a sedation-trained pediatrician and anesthesiologists who examine your child before the exam and monitor him until it's time for you to go home.

Organ-system 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.