Nicklaus Children’s Hospital has installed a new, state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, the Philips 1.5T Ambition X, at its West Kendall Outpatient Center, transforming healthcare delivery for children and their families. Nicklaus Children’s is the first hospital in the nation to adopt a mobile version of the Philips 1.5T Ambition X, to replace an existing MRI machine to better serve children and their families.

Among its features, the cutting-edge system delivers high-quality images with more efficiency, enabling faster setup and exam time, allowing for potential reduction in the amount of time a child is sedated. The system also has interactive experience tools to help put children at ease during an MRI procedure. The immersive technology combined with lighting, visual themes and playful characters, as well as child-friendly music provide positive distraction during procedures. With this new device, Nicklaus Children’s has expanded MRI offerings at its West Kendall location to include imaging of total body, long bones, kidney, and more.

“We are delighted to bring the latest advances in technology, innovation and patient safety to our patients and families to the West Kendall community,” said Matthew A. Love, president and CEO of Nicklaus Children’s Health System. “It is part of our longstanding commitment to ensuring children across Florida have access to high-quality, personalized healthcare close to home.”

The 1.5T Ambition X, the first mobile BlueSeal MRI in North America, a fully sealed magnet that is practically helium-free, never needing helium refilling, and can be discharged or re-energized quickly utilizing the EasySwitch solution, which allows for a controlled ramp down of the magnet, minimizing patient disruptions.

Nicklaus Children’s offers convenience of outpatient MRI imaging by appointment at various locations throughout the community including the main hospital campus, in Weston and West Kendall. The Nicklaus Children’s West Kendall Outpatient Center, which is celebrating 15 years of providing care in the community, is home to West Kendall’s only urgent care center exclusively for children. Other services offered at this location include pediatric rehabilitation (physical, occupational and speech therapies), diagnostic services by appointment including EKG, MRI and EEG/Video EEG, as well as appointments with pediatric specialists in cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, orthopedics, and plastic surgery. For more information, please visit nicklauschildrens.org/WestKendall.

About Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Where Children Matter Most(2024)
Founded in 1950 as Variety Children’s Hospital, Nicklaus Children’s is South Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with approximately 850 attending physicians, including more than 500 pediatric subspecialists. The 307-bed hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine, with many specialty programs routinely ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. The hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern United States and since 2003 has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession’s most prestigious institutional honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org.