In recent weeks, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in East Hollywood has taken steps to improve care for some of its pediatric patients.

In late January, the hospital announced it is adding a 10th gene therapy regimen to its already extensive platform of cell and gene therapies that can be administered to patients.

Days later, the hospital announced the opening of an upgraded pediatric cardiac imaging suite, featuring a new “low field” magnetic resonance imaging machine.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles first started applying gene therapies in the 1990s, when researchers there and at the USC Keck School of Medicine received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to construct one of the nation’s first academic cell and gene manufacturing facilities.

In the ensuing decades, Children’s Hospital has integrated nine cell and gene therapies into its treatment regimens for its young patients. The therapies target diseases and conditions ranging from leukemia to muscular dystrophy to vision loss from inherited retinal dystrophy.

“These new therapies represent the next generation of medical innovation,” said Malika Maddison, vice president of service line strategy and operations for the hospital.

This latest gene therapy offering is Casgevy, which treats sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia, a blood disorder that reduces the production of hemoglobin.

“With the addition of this gene therapy, we are further advancing our mission to create hope and build healthier futures for patients and families by providing access to paradigm-changing therapies that offer the prospect of cure and improved quality of life,” said Alan Wayne, pediatrician-in-chief at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

New imaging technology at hospital

The new imaging suite at Children’s Hospital is a 6,650-square-foot facility that aims to improve access, service, and quality of care for cardiac patients. According to the hospital, it features the most advanced imaging technology in use at any pediatric center in the nation.

The centerpiece is the first low-field MRI machine at a pediatric hospital. Low-field MRI uses a magnet that has one-third to one-sixth the strength than conventional MRI machines, which Children’s Hospital administrators say is both safer and more comfortable for children. Among its advantages is the ability to accommodate slight movement in the patient; many children have difficulty maintaining a motionless position during the MRI scan sweep. Also, the low-MRI technology serves as an alternative to radiation imaging techniques such as X-rays that pose a higher risk to children.

“Low-field MRI opens up a world of possibilities that can improve care for children, including the development of real-time imaging capabilities,” said John Wood, director of cardiovascular MRI at Children’s Hospital.

Wood added that eventually doctors and researchers at Children’s Hospital will be able to track diseases and conditions that are currently very difficult to monitor, such as lung disease in infants and children.

“While it will take time to develop these techniques and translate them to the clinical environment, that is where we are headed thanks to this revolutionary machine,” Wood said.

The new cardiac imaging suite also includes a more conventional MRI machine, five patient prep and recovery bays, an anesthesia induction room, and space for a future cardiac computed tomography scanner. It also offers specialized stress testing for myocardial perfusion, addressing blood flow issues in the heart, a capability that Children’s Hospital executives say is not offered at other pediatric facilities in the state.