Ultrasound Radiomics in Pediatric Imaging: Current Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions Toward Clinical Implementation

Mezher, Maria; Elgamal, Mohannad; Schoeman, Sean; Al-Hasani, Maryam; Otero, Hansel J.; Sultan, Laith R.

doi:10.3390/diagnostics16111669

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Ultrasound Radiomics in Pediatric Imaging: Current Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions Toward Clinical Implementation

by

Maria Mezher

¹,

Mohannad Elgamal

^1,†

,

Sean Schoeman

^1,†

,

Maryam Al-Hasani

²,

Hansel J. Otero

^1,2

and

Laith R. Sultan

^1,2,*

¹

Radiology Department, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 3401 Civic Center Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19146, USA

²

Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Diagnostics 2026, 16(11), 1669; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16111669

Submission received: 15 April 2026 / Revised: 23 May 2026 / Accepted: 25 May 2026 / Published: 28 May 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Ultrasound Techniques in Diagnosis)

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Abstract

Ultrasound is widely used in pediatric imaging because it is safe, portable, real-time, and free of ionizing radiation, but interpretation remains qualitative and operator-dependent. Ultrasound radiomics can extract quantitative features from standard grayscale images, providing potential biomarkers of tissue patterns not readily apparent on visual assessment. This structured narrative review summarizes pediatric ultrasound radiomics applications across organ systems and key barriers to clinical translation. Current evidence suggests promise in neonatal brain injury, neurodevelopmental assessment, liver disease staging, renal characterization, oncologic risk stratification, and emerging lung and muscle applications. However, most studies remain limited by retrospective single-center designs, small cohorts, acquisition variability, segmentation inconsistency, and limited external validation. Future progress will require standardized workflows, prospective multicenter validation, and clinically interpretable integration into decision-support systems.

Keywords: pediatric imaging; ultrasound; radiomics; quantitative analysis; image segmentation; tissue characterization; imaging workflow; artificial intelligence; machine learning

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MDPI and ACS Style

Mezher, M.; Elgamal, M.; Schoeman, S.; Al-Hasani, M.; Otero, H.J.; Sultan, L.R. Ultrasound Radiomics in Pediatric Imaging: Current Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions Toward Clinical Implementation. Diagnostics 2026, 16, 1669. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16111669

AMA Style

Mezher M, Elgamal M, Schoeman S, Al-Hasani M, Otero HJ, Sultan LR. Ultrasound Radiomics in Pediatric Imaging: Current Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions Toward Clinical Implementation. Diagnostics. 2026; 16(11):1669. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16111669

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mezher, Maria, Mohannad Elgamal, Sean Schoeman, Maryam Al-Hasani, Hansel J. Otero, and Laith R. Sultan. 2026. "Ultrasound Radiomics in Pediatric Imaging: Current Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions Toward Clinical Implementation" Diagnostics 16, no. 11: 1669. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16111669

APA Style

Mezher, M., Elgamal, M., Schoeman, S., Al-Hasani, M., Otero, H. J., & Sultan, L. R. (2026). Ultrasound Radiomics in Pediatric Imaging: Current Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions Toward Clinical Implementation. Diagnostics, 16(11), 1669. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16111669

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Ultrasound Radiomics in Pediatric Imaging: Current Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions Toward Clinical Implementation

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