Pediatric neuroradiology

Head: Senior physician Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Eva Bültmann

 

Paediatric neuroradiology is a highly specialized field of work within the Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology at MHH. This special expertise is required for a large number of clinical pediatric issues, with MRI diagnostics providing the most meaningful diagnostic information. This imaging procedure is particularly gentle, as it does not involve any radiation exposure. It also enables high-resolution soft tissue contrast with special imaging techniques down to the sub-millimeter range. Both state-of-the-art 1.5 Tesla and 3 Tesla MR tomographs are available for this purpose. In addition to conventional MRI diagnostics, all current special MRI procedures such as MR spectroscopy, high-resolution inner ear diagnostics, cerebrospinal fluid flow measurements and motion-corrected sequences can also be performed. As a special highlight, we have also had a special head and body coil available for premature and newborn babies since 2015. This not only enables an excellent child-friendly examination, but thanks to its special transport unit, it also ensures a low-risk change of environment for our small patients from the pediatric intensive care unit to the MR unit.

 

Over 1000 MRI examinations are carried out on children at the MHH every year. Up to the age of approx. 6 years, we are supported by the Clinical Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at the MHH to carry out these sometimes very complex diagnostic procedures. Frequent questions are unclear developmental disorders, the clarification of metabolic diseases, malformations, inflammatory or tumorous diseases, recurrent headaches or epileptiform events as well as cerebrospinal fluid circulation disorders. Diseases of the spine also frequently require a child's MRI diagnosis, not only in the case of post-traumatic changes, but also in the clarification of malformations and abnormalities, inflammations and tumors. In the case of abnormalities in the child during pregnancy, MRI diagnostics can also be carried out in the womb in addition to ultrasound diagnostics.

 

As the organism is still growing, cooperation with the treating pediatricians is of fundamental importance for the targeted interpretation of the diagnostics. For this reason, there is close cooperation with the Center for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at the MHH. Weekly interdisciplinary conferences together with colleagues from the Clinical Department of Paediatric Kidney, Liver and Metabolic Diseases and Neuropaediatrics as well as colleagues from the Clinic for Paediatric Haematology and Oncology and the Clinical Department of Neurosurgery form the basis of this network.

Eva Bültmann/Neuroradiology/MHH
Fig. 1: Fetal MRI (30th week of pregnancy) with a brain structure disorder in the absence of a corpus callosum; Fig. 2: MRI of the head and spine in the newly developed, high-resolution "Cocoon" coil system for neonatal diagnosis of sacral meningomyelocele; Fig. 3: Infant with a congenital metabolic disorder (M.Leigh)

Dr. Eva Bültmann, head of paediatric neuroradiology, has many years of experience in this field. She is often the contact person for second opinions or expert opinions.

She was a member of the international expert panel of the "Unsolved Case" for many years and has been a member of the expert panel of the German Academy for Rare Neurological Diseases since 2017 (http://www.dasne.de). She conducts research in the field of child brain development using the latest complex MR techniques (see current publications).

Differentiated diagnostic examinations in children (MRI etc.) are a particular challenge and require close cooperation between pediatricians, parents and children as well as neuroradiologists. Such cooperation thrives on Communications, please contact us!