Pediatric advanced imaging and informatics: state of the art

Pediatric imaging has been at the forefront of radiology innovation since the days of Roentgen. In the past 2 decades, evolving computer technology and sophisticated software algorithms have rapidly advanced how pediatric radiologic examinations are acquired and displayed, interpreted and communicated, and stored and retrieved. Cost-effective use of this state of the art technology requires fundamental knowledge of the modalities, workstations, and informatics that guide advanced pediatric imaging in the current digital era. Equally important is an understanding of the advanced clinical applications and evidence supporting this use. In the first part of this review article, after a brief introduction and historical overview, technical principles are discussed. This is followed by a review of advanced clinical applications for fetal, cardiovascular, central nervous system, neck, thoracic, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, musculoskeletal, and virtual-autopsy imaging.