Myles Bradbury faces a substantial prison sentence for abusing 18 boys aged 10-16 who were in his care at a hospital
Dr Myles Bradbury admitted 25 offences in September involving 18 boys aged 10 to 16 whom he had treated while working as a paediatric haematologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.
The abuse included seven counts of sexual assault and 12 of engaging in sexual activity with a child.
John Farmer, prosecuting, told how Bradbury, 41, would carry out intimate examinations and ask the boys to touch themselves "with no medical justification whatsoever".
Bradbury, who sat with his head bowed wearing a dark suit, would abuse his young patients on occasions when "the parent was a curtain away".
He would also secretly film them using a camera pen.
More than 16,000 images were found on a disc at his home.
Bradbury's patients were often very ill, suffering from leukaemia or blood illnesses such as haemophilia.
Bradbury has been warned he can expect a substantial prison term when sentence is delivered.
More than 20 family members filled Court 3 at Cambridge Crown Court for the start of the sentencing hearing, which is expected to conclude on Monday.
The court heard that he would arrange unnecessary appointments with one patient even though he knew he "was in the all-clear" so that abuse could be carried out.
The crimes first came to light in November 2013 after an 11-year-old boy told his grandmother about what had happened during a visit to Bradbury and how he had been told to keep it a secret.
Mr Farmer said the boy "showed great wisdom" in speaking out.
The doctor, who lived in Suffolk at the time, was suspended by Addenbrooke's before being arrested the following month.
But it has since emerged that concerns about the paediatrician had been raised by police in Toronto, Canada, as far back as July 2012 when he was flagged up as a possible paedophile after buying a particular video.
The information was passed on to the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) at the time but it took more than a year from them to act upon it.
Victim statements were read out by the prosecution during the hearing.
One mother spoke of her "physical sickness, numbness and sheer anger" at what had happened to her son.
Angela Rafferty QC defending said her client "wishes to apologise to the children, to their families and the colleagues all of whom he has betrayed", adding that an early guilty plea should be taken into account.
Bradbury had also admitted three counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, one of voyeurism and two counts of making indecent images of children.
By Emma Birchley
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