At RCHI we have an exceptionally skilled team of imaging experts at the pediatric and congenital cardiac imaging program. They are able to minutely view, observe and get images of even the tiniest hearts, with the help of refined medical technology. These images facilitate the doctors in their diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, both prior to and soon after a child’s birth.

The surgeons, cardiologists, and cardiac radiologists work in collaboration with each other, while taking a call on the best form of imaging for each child. The information provided through imaging helps in accurate detection and treatment of all types of heart diseases in young patients, which range from common conditions to unusual diagnoses.

We would like to reassure all parents and families, that at Rainbow Children’s Heart Institute, we are equipped with the most updated technologies in modern cardiac imaging, which includes the following:

• Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE), the most common method, wherein a transducer is moved gently across a child’s chest to produce a two- or three-dimensional (2D or 3D) picture of the heart beating
• Transesophageal echocardiogram, wherein a small probe is slid down the throat so as to produce precise images of the heart
• Fetal echocardiography, wherein a transducer is moved gently across a pregnant woman’s abdomen to produce a 2D or 3D picture of the unborn child’s beating heart inside the womb
• CT scan, wherein X-ray technology produces 3D cross-sectional images of the heart
• 3D modeling, including three-dimensional printing