UW Health Kids has opened the world’s first pediatric interventional radiology suite using GE HealthCare’s Allia Moveo system at American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison. It is expected to double annual procedures and expand access to minimally invasive pediatric care.
A children’s hospital in Madison, Wisconsin has opened a dedicated suite for pediatric interventional radiology, becoming the first site worldwide to apply its central imaging technology to interventional care for children. The suite began treating patients in June at American Family Children’s Hospital, part of UW Health Kids.
Interventional radiology relies on imaging such as ultrasound, fluoroscopy, MRI and CT to steer minimally invasive procedures, including catheter placement and biopsies, which often shorten recovery compared with open surgery. At the center of the new room sits a movable, C-shaped imaging arm with AI-supported guidance, developed by GE HealthCare and marketed as Allia Moveo. Clinicians can bring the imaging to the patient and then move it aside, accommodating different body types and easing the experience for younger patients. Rounding out the room are 3D imaging tools and advanced navigational technology that let the space flex across procedure types.
This installation is the fourth of its kind globally and the first used for pediatric interventional radiology. Physicians expect it to roughly double annual procedures at the hospital, where volume has climbed from about 300 in 2021 to roughly 800. That earlier ceiling had pushed some cases to face delays or move to other facilities.
Because the team had shared space with pediatric interventional cardiology, the suite also frees capacity for cardiac care and opens time in the operating rooms, allowing suitable cases to shift into a minimally invasive setting. Children with conditions ranging from vascular disorders to cancer make up much of the patient population.
Leadership sits with pediatric interventional radiologist Dr. Eric Monroe, a professor of radiology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. GE HealthCare has kept a long relationship with UW Health and the medical school. The suite serves inpatients and outpatients, has been cited as a recruitment draw for clinical talent and will support research alongside patient care, according to UW Health.