Indianapolis, IN - Several leaders from the Crossroads Pediatric Device Consortium recently participated in an education and collaboration session in Indianapolis focused on outlining the future of interventional medicine and its expected impacts on medical device design and imaging innovations. Indiana’s leading minds in medicine, engineering, and industry gathered at the 16 Tech Innovation District to shape a bold new frontier in pediatric care: Interventional MRI (iMRI). Hosted by Indiana University Launch Accelerator for Biosciences (IU LAB), Cook Medical, and Siemens Healthineers, the event brought together key partners from Riley Children's Health, Purdue University and the Indiana University School of Medicine, along with representatives from Roche Diagnostics, Eli Lilly & Co., Ivy Tech, and BioCrossroads to shape a shared vision for an iMRI Center of Excellence in Indiana. With a focus on reducing radiation exposure and increasing surgical precision this initiative represents a transformative step toward safer and smarter interventions for children.
Interventional MRI (iMRI) offers real-time, high-resolution imaging without exposing patients to ionizing radiation; this is an especially powerful advancement in pediatric care where safety and precision are paramount. Unlike traditional imaging which carries long term health risks from repeated radiation exposure, iMRI allows surgeons to visualize soft tissues in detail during procedures, enabling safer, more targeted interventions for children.
“This collaborative session reflects the strength and breadth of Indiana’s research and medtech ecosystem,” said Matthew Waninger, PhD, Managing Director of the Crossroads Pediatric Device Consortium. Cook Medical is leading the development of MRI-compatible interventional tools, while Siemens Healthineers continues to advance the underlying scanner technology that powers real-time imaging. “It’s exciting to see our biomedical engineering experts at Purdue working alongside Cook Medical and others to develop next-generation iMRI tools that integrate hardware, AI, and software to deliver unprecedented accuracy in the operating room.” Waninger said.
For the Crossroads Pediatric Device Consortium, the event highlighted not only a technological inflection point but also a strategic opportunity to shape the pediatric applications of these tools from the ground up. The inclusion of pediatric voices in the design and deployment of interventional imaging innovations ensures that children are not simply considered “small adults” in the clinical workflow and that their anatomical, developmental, and procedural needs drive tailored device design and imaging protocols.
“Our consortium exists to make sure the youngest and most vulnerable patients benefit from the full force of translational science,” said George Wodicka the Vincent P. Reilly Professor of Biomedical Engineering and co-founder of the Crossroads Pediatric Device Consortium. “The iMRI initiative is exactly the kind of cross-sector collaboration Indiana needs to drive pediatric innovation forward—not five years from now, but today.”
The session also reinforced the importance of workforce development across disciplines. The Crossroads Pediatric Device Consortium emphasized the critical need for training programs that equip pediatric surgeons, imaging specialists, and device engineers with the unique competencies required to work within the MRI suite as technologies like AI-assisted navigation move from prototype to practice.
As the planning moves toward implementation, Crossroads Pediatric Device Consortium looks forward to working alongside its partners, including the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI), to help build a nationally recognized pediatric-focused node within Indiana’s iMRI Center of Excellence, ensuring that clinical adoption, device development, and training are informed by the needs of children from day one.
Follow the journey as Indiana builds the future of safer, smarter pediatric care—one breakthrough at a time.
Learn more about iMRI and explore the research driving this work, visit Cook Medical.
Connect with me: Xansa Patri
Communications Intern, Crossroads Pediatric Device Consortium