As you can imagine, dealing with some of the littlest of patients means altering the way certain procedures are performed. At Sanford Children's, new technology and changes in protocol mean kids receive less radiation during cat scans.

The hospital will be the first in the country to receive low-dose software for their CT scanner. It will allow technologists to reduce the amount of radiation by as much as 40 percent, while still getting the clear images they need. On top of that, some techniques have been modified to cut back on the radiation---in some situations by as much as 70 percent. For children, that can have long-term benefits.

“It’s just when kids are young their cells are young, so that just kind of---any radiation on kids is just not a good thing. It's best to avoid it,” Cara Lindeman of Sanford Radiology said.

The scanner itself also offers some benefits. Because it can scan more quickly than some other scanners, it's less traumatic for children. They're also less likely to move, which keeps technologists from having to repeat the procedure.