Riley Hospital Unveils Low Radiation X-Ray System

Inside a big room at Riley Hospital for Children stands a giant orange and white box that looks sort of like a futuristic shower.

Only it’s not a shower, but an x-ray system known as EOS. In addition to being able to take two x-rays at once and construct a 3D image, the machine stands out by using much less radiation than traditional scans.

Dr. Karen Myung, a surgeon who specializes in alignment issues in kids, says that makes a huge difference.

“Often these children who have scoliosis or limb alignment issues, they need multiple images during their growing years, because the scoliosis or the limb alignment issue can change as they grow,” she says. “So with each image, we’re reducing the dose.” 

EOS machines like the one at Riley are expensive — they cost about $1 million apiece — and the hospital had to wait more than a year to get this one. It’s one of only 34 in the whole country, and the only one in Indiana. Myung and her colleagues have been using it just a few weeks, but so far, the children seem to like it.

“They think it's like a spaceship,” says Myung. “All of them come back and want to do it again.”

Even though the new equipment is located in a children’s hospital, it’s not just for kids. Adults can use it, too, as long as they have a referral.