Inova Children’s Heart Center offers state of the art imaging technology including both cardiac MRI and CT imaging. The Inova Fairfax MRI center was the first location in the United States to offer comprehensive cardiac MRI with 4D Flow imaging, a novel technique to evaluate three dimensional flow dynamics in the entire heart and surrounding vasculature. This technique allows for decreased scan time without breath holding and may reduce the need for anesthesia in younger children.

Inova Fairfax Medical Campus recently added a new GE Revolution CT scanner. This will allow for lower dose imaging techniques for our pediatric patients, as well as whole heart imaging in a single beat. Although MR is our imaging technique of choice in congenital heart disease, CT is a valuable tool in certain conditions. The new low dose scanner will afford us the ability to obtain these specialized images with a low dose of radiation and without the use of anesthesia.