MRI scans more accurately define and detect fetal abnormalities: studies

According to new Survey, MRI scans can more accurately define and detect malformations of the fetal head, neck, thoracic cavity, abdomen, and spine. The results of this study were published in the journal “Lancet Child and Adolescent Health”. Large-scale interdisciplinary studies were led by King’s College London and Eberina London Children’s Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital, and UCL.

In this study, a team of researchers and clinicians showed how MRI scans show in great detail the malformations, including their effects on surrounding structures. Importantly, they said MRI is a very safe procedure for pregnant women and their babies. The authors said the work was invaluable to both the clinician who cares for the baby before birth and the team planning to care for the baby after childbirth.

Recent research has focused on correcting fetal movements on fetal brain MRI, and more recently on fetal heart imaging. However, there is a growing demand for using MRI to evaluate the entire foetation, and a study by King’s College London School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences at Evelina London Children’s Hospital has recently shown that accurate movement and volume can be achieved. After getting the, I was able to develop the pipeline. Reconstruct the whole body image of the foetation.

Professor Mary Rutherford, a senior researcher in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Science, said ultrasound remains the gold standard for fetal screening and complements these optimized MRI approaches for assessing fetal body abnormalities. Said to do.

“In the past, ultrasound has been the modality of choice for diagnosing these abnormalities. However, the ability of ultrasound to define the most detailed anatomy may be limited. MRI scans are clinical. It offers the possibility to more accurately define malformations that help doctors plan. For parental care and counseling, “Razaford added.

MRI is commonly used to classify fetal brain abnormalities. Its use in fetal body abnormalities has not been widely adopted, but advances have led to the verification of its role in prenatal studies of several conditions, including fetal studies of spina bifida: with the spinal cord. Imaging the fetal brain is important A factor in assessing which patients can benefit from fetal surgery. For fetal neck masses, MRI offers clear advantages over traditional ultrasound to assess tumor enlargement and visualize the relationship between the airways and the tumor in 3D.

MRI is superior to ultrasound when distinguishing between normal and abnormal lung tissue and when making other diagnoses such as diaphragmatic hernia, especially when it is difficult to do with ultrasound in late pregnancy. There is a possibility. A new approach to imaging the fetal body using MRI allows both the correction of fetal image movement and the reconstruction of the volume of body organs and defects. Researchers say this improves visualization and therefore anomaly detection and characterization.

The project brought together surgeons, fetal medicine specialists, radiologists, and physicists to investigate fetal condition using magnetic resonance imaging. This approach has already been integrated into the clinical practice of Evelina London, which is part of the Guy’s and St Thomas’NHS Foundation Trust. You can also watch videos and images. The ongoing work focuses on a fully automated process suitable for clinical translation and wider dissemination to clinical practice.

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