Artificial Intelligence Implementation in Pediatric Radiology for Patient Safety: A Multisociety Statement From the ACR, ESPR, SPR, SLARP, AOSPR, SPIN

Susan C Shelmerdine ¹, Jaishree Naidoo ², Brendan S Kelly ³

¹Department of Clinical Radiology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK; UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK; National Institute for Health and Care Research Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre, Bloomsbury, London, UK.
²Paediatric Diagnostic Imaging, Dr J Naidoo Inc, Johannesburg, South Africa; Envisionit Deep AI Ltd, Coveham House, Cobham, UK; Managing Director.
³Department of Clinical Radiology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK; Member Editorial Board of European Radiology (Imaging Informatics and Artificial Intelligence).
⁴Mohn Medical Imaging and Visualization Centre, Department of Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway; Senior Researcher.
⁵Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Pediatric Radiology, Geneva Children's Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland; Chief of Pediatric Radiology; University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Member of the Editorial Board of Pediatric Radiology (Artificial Intelligence).
⁶Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Member Editorial Board of European Radiology (Imaging Informatics and Artificial Intelligence); Department of Pediatric Radiology, University Children's Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Board Member and Chair of Education Committee of EuSoMII.
⁷UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK; National Institute for Health and Care Research Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre, Bloomsbury, London, UK; Department of Clinical Radiology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK; Professor of Radiology.
⁸University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Health System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
⁹Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus MC-Sophia's Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Associate Professor, Pediatric and Thoracic Radiologist; Department of Medical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
¹⁰Department of Radiology, IRCCS Giannina Gaslini Institute, Genova, Italy; Head of Department.
¹¹Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Co-Chair of the ACR Pediatric Imaging Research Committee; Chair of the RSNA Annual Meeting Program Planning Pediatric Radiology Committee; Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Vice Chair of Medical Imaging (Clinical Practice Improvement), University of Toronto; Research Director of the Department of Diagnostic & Interventional Radiology; Imaging Lead of the Personalized Child Health Program, The Hospital for Sick Children; Chair of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Pediatric Radiology Annual Meeting Program Planning Committee (AMPPC) Subcommittee; Co-Chair of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Pediatric Imaging Research Commission; Co-Chair of Research of the Canadian Society of Pediatric Radiology (CANSPR).
¹²Department of Radiology, King's College Hospital, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; Lead for Paediatric Respiratory and Musculoskeletal Radiology.
¹³University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri; Professor, Vice Chair, Medical Director, Neuroradiology Division Director, Physician Director of Radiology Informatics.
¹⁴Department of Radiology, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; Radiologist-in-Chief and Chairman.
¹⁵Department of Radiology, Section of Pediatric Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Associate Chair.
¹⁶Department of Diagnostic Imaging, National University Hospital, Singapore; Adjunct Professor and Senior Consultant Radiologist.
¹⁷Edward B. Singleton Department of Radiology, Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; Clinical Imaging Lead.
¹⁸Division of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK; Department of Radiology, Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK; University of Sheffield: Professor of Paediatric MSK Imaging; Chair UoS Race Equality Delivery Group and SCH NHSFT: Honorary Consultant Paediatric Radiologist; Editor of Pediatric Radiology, Vice-President, Royal College of Radiologists, UK.
¹⁹Department of Radiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Vice Chair of Clinical Research at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Perelman School of Medicine, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
²⁰Department of Radiology and Oak Cancer for Children and Young People, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK; Consultant Paediatric Oncoradiologist Core Member of the Paediatric Operational and Multidisciplinary Teams.
²¹Radiology Department Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
²²Department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India; Professor and Section In-Charge, Pediatric Radiology, PGIMER.
²³Division of Paediatric Radiology, Department of Radiology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria; Head of Pediatric Radiology.
²⁴Department of Imaging, Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño San Borja, Lima, Peru; Department of Radiology, Division of Pediatric Radiology, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio; SLARP (Pediatric Society of Pediatric Radiology) Past President.
²⁵Department of Pediatric Radiology, Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health, Bangalore, India.
²⁶Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Paediatric Radiologist.
²⁷Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.
²⁸Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Vice Chair of Medical Imaging (Clinical Practice Improvement), University of Toronto; Research Director of the Department of Diagnostic & Interventional Radiology; Imaging Lead of the Personalized Child Health Program, The Hospital for Sick Children; Chair of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Pediatric Radiology Annual Meeting Program Planning Committee (AMPPC) Subcommittee; Co-Chair of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Pediatric Imaging Research Commission; Co-Chair of Research of the Canadian Society of Pediatric Radiology (CANSPR); Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Division of Neuroradiology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University Hospital Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany; Attending.
²⁹Department of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California; Section Editor of Pediatric Radiology (Artificial Intelligence); Director of Pediatric Cardiovascular Imaging, Stanford Medicine Children's Health; Chair, Society for Pediatric Radiology (SPR) Informatics Committee.
³⁰Singleton Department of Radiology, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas; Department of Radiology, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; ACR Pediatric AI Workgroup, Chair; ACR Pediatric Q&S Committee.

⁰Department of Clinical Radiology, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK; UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK; National Institute for Health and Care Research Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre, Bloomsbury, London, UK.

Journal of the American College of Radiology : Jacr +

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November 25, 2025

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

Artificial intelligence (AI) offers great potential in pediatric radiology. This position statement outlines a child-centered framework for safe AI integration, emphasizing tailored regulation, implementation, and education for children's unique needs.

Area Of Science

Radiology
Medical Imaging
Artificial Intelligence

Background

Current AI in radiology primarily serves adults, neglecting children's distinct physiological and developmental needs.
Safe and effective AI integration in pediatric radiology requires specialized approaches.
A multisociety position statement addresses critical pillars for AI adoption in pediatrics.

Purpose Of The Study

To propose a child-centered framework for the adoption of artificial intelligence in pediatric radiology.
To outline specific recommendations for regulation, implementation, interpretation, and education of AI tools for pediatric use.
To ensure the safety, accuracy, and well-being of children when using AI in medical imaging.

Main Methods

Systematic review and position statement development by multiple societies.
Proposal of pediatric-specific safety ratings, diverse datasets, transparency metrics, and explainability.
Recommendation of a phased implementation strategy with pilot testing and continuous postmarket surveillance.
Emphasis on foundational AI literacy and specialized training for healthcare professionals.

Main Results

Advocacy for pediatric-specific safety ratings and diverse datasets to mitigate bias.
Recommendations for phased implementation, stakeholder engagement, and robust postmarket surveillance.
Highlighting the necessity of AI literacy and specialized training for healthcare professionals.
Stress on public and patient engagement for AI acceptance in pediatric radiology.

Conclusions

A child-centered framework is essential for integrating AI in pediatric radiology.
Prioritizing children's unique needs ensures the safe and effective use of AI in medical imaging.
Tailored regulation, implementation, and education are crucial for successful AI adoption in pediatric radiology.

Keywords:

Artificial intelligence children implementation radiology safety