Rapid, accurate diagnosis in the neonatal period can be life-saving and can shape long-term outcomes for vulnerable infants. This session on Diagnostic Innovations in Neonatology highlights emerging tools and strategies that are reshaping how clinicians detect, characterise, and monitor conditions in the newborn period. Participants will explore advances in imaging, point-of-care testing, genomics, biomarkers, and digital monitoring, and consider how these innovations can be integrated into everyday neonatal practice.

Neonatal teams increasingly attend Neonatology Conference to understand which technologies add real value at the bedside. In this session, attendees will review developments in bedside ultrasound, advanced neuroimaging, continuous cardiorespiratory monitoring, and non-invasive assessment of organ function. The content also examines rapid molecular diagnostics for infection, metabolic disease, and genetic conditions, alongside discussions of turnaround time, cost, and feasibility in different settings. Participants will consider how new tools can refine clinical decision-making in respiratory distress, sepsis, hypoxic–ischaemic injury, and congenital anomalies.

A central focus is designing robust pediatric neonatal diagnostic pathways that combine technology with careful clinical assessment and family communication. Case examples will illustrate how to balance the use of sophisticated tests with the risk of over-investigation, incidental findings, and uncertain results. Attendees will explore strategies for explaining complex diagnostic processes and findings to parents in understandable terms, supporting them through uncertainty and shared decisions. The session will also touch on how diagnostic data can inform prognostication, follow-up planning, and early intervention referrals.

Ethics, equity, and global perspectives are woven throughout. Participants will reflect on questions around consent for genomic testing, data storage and privacy, and the potential for bias in predictive algorithms. The discussion will address the challenge of implementing innovations in low- and middle-resource settings, where basic diagnostics may still be limited. By the end, attendees will have a clearer sense of how to appraise new diagnostic technologies, integrate them thoughtfully into neonatal care, and ensure that they serve the best interests of infants and families.