The Clinical & Translational Study Unit at Children's Hospital Boston

The Inpatient CTSU is an eight-bed unit centrally located within the main building of Children's Hospital Boston, and is organized to support the management of children participating in clinical research. The ambulatory/outpatient CTSU (5,024 sq. ft.) is adjacent to the inpatient CTSU, as well as part of the CAT/CR program located in an adjoining building. The outpatient unit has five private exam rooms, two consult rooms, and one behavioral testing room. The CTSU includes a metabolic kitchen and dining room. CTSU nurses are experienced research RNs, CPR certified, proficient with IV insertion and maintenance, and experienced with timely collection and bedside processing of blood, urine, and other body samples.

The CTSU Metabolism & Nutrition Research unit has a research dietitian on staff experienced with developing/planning meals for research studies. The CTSU has its own metabolic kitchen for food storage and preparation. The research dietitians also perform anthropometry. Metabolic monitoring via V-max is available.

A Hologic Model A Discovery Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry machine for measurement of bone density and/or body composition is located in the outpatient CTSU on Pavilion 6. The CTSU also houses a BIA for body composition, and a portable ultrasound for measurement of bone density. The CTSU has recently acquired an Orthometrix model XCT 3000 peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) scanner to assess bone density. The pQCT scanner is housed in the outpatient CTSU on Pavilion 6.

In addition to the onsite processing laboratory, the CTSU has both a processing and storage laboratory (200 sq. ft) located next to and above the Children's Hospital Clinical Laboratories and a special testing laboratory located in the Enders Research Facility (300 sq. ft). The CTSU laboratory is experienced in molecular biology procedures, immunological assays, radioimmunoassays, and highly specialized sample processing of clinical samples.