Making Medicine Better and Safer for Our Kids

Radiology provides quick, convenient and safe diagnostic imaging for kids

Do you know what Sunday is? November 8, 2015, is the International Day of Radiology (IDoR). On this day 120 years ago, German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen discovered the X-ray. His discovery has helped revolutionize medicine and save countless lives. Nowhere has radiology’s impact been greater than in the care of children at places like Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Stanford Medicine Children’s Health.

Thanks to radiology, exploratory surgery is no longer necessary for children with suspected appendicitis. Falls no longer require days in the hospital to observe children for suspected concussion. Scans quickly and accurately provide information to physicians and families that used to require invasive (and often expensive) procedures or long hospital stays to acquire. Scan results allow physicians to quickly address urgent situations or rule out illness or injury to give parents peace of mind.

Through ongoing efforts like the Image Gently® campaign and collaborations with imaging equipment manufacturers, we are making pediatric imaging exams better and safer. The Image Gently campaign offers a wealth of information to parents to help them make more informed decisions regarding their child’s care.

Radiation therapy is also a modern result of Roentgen’s discovery. Today, 44 percent of children diagnosed with cancer at places like our Bass Childhood Cancer Center are treated with radiation therapy, helping to save countless lives. It is no coincidence that survival for many childhood cancers, and other diseases and injuries, has dramatically improved over the last few decades as use of these technologies has increased.

So while most of us will go about business as usual Sunday, it seems appropriate that we pause to recognize the radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists, technologists and administrators who continue to make such a difference in the lives of so many children. Yes, Nov. 8 is the International Day of Radiology, but medical imaging and radiation oncology make a world of difference every day.

Find out more about the radiology program at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Stanford Medicine Children’s Health at http://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/service/radiology.