Leading the way in neuroimaging advances and applications.
The Pediatric Imaging Research Center (PIRC) is an interdisciplinary research center operated by the Department of Pediatric Radiology at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. The PIRC is staffed by pediatric radiologists, research technologists, research engineers, research nurses, research coordinators, systems administrators, research assistants, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and medical students. It is divided into the following areas:
- Dose reduction and distraction techniques
- Neuroimaging
- Cardiac imaging
- Molecular imaging
- Interventional radiology
The neuroimaging branch of the PIRC uses innovative, effective research protocols that are not available anywhere else, and the center’s strong research collaboration with adult imaging at UPMC Presbyterian allows both organizations to share knowledge and findings. Currently, pediatric neuroimaging research is active in the areas of:
- Advanced imaging related to pediatric brain tumors
- Original research in new methods and applications of diagnostic imaging
- Optimization of neonatal head coils
- Brain injury in premature neonates
- Brain injury in neonates with congenital heart disease
- Targeted molecular imaging
- Radiation dose reduction with (ASIR) - Adaptive Statistical Iterative Reconstruction
