Fetal cardiac cine magnetic resonance imaging in utero.

Chaptinel J; Yerly J; Mivelaz Y; Prsa M; Alamo L; Vial Y; Berchier G; Rohner C; Gudinchet F; Stuber M

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-15701-1

Back

Journal article

Fetal cardiac cine magnetic resonance imaging in utero.

Chaptinel J Department of Radiology, University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Yerly J Department of Radiology, University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Mivelaz Y Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Department Woman-Mother-Child, University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Prsa M Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Department Woman-Mother-Child, University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Alamo L Department of Radiology, University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Vial Y Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Department Woman-Mother-Child, University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Berchier G Department of Radiology, University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Rohner C Department of Radiology, University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Gudinchet F Department of Radiology, University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Stuber M Department of Radiology, University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland. Matthias.stuber@chuv.ch.

2017-11-16

Published in:

Scientific reports. - 2017

Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted

Image Processing, Computer-Assisted

Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine

English Fast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) led to the emergence of 'cine MRI' techniques, which enable the visualization of the beating heart and the assessment of cardiac morphology and dynamics. However, established cine MRI methods are not suitable for fetal heart imaging in utero, where anatomical structures are considerably smaller and recording an electrocardiogram signal for synchronizing MRI data acquisition is difficult. Here we present a framework to overcome these challenges. We use methods for image acquisition and reconstruction that robustly produce images with sufficient spatial and temporal resolution to detect the heart contractions of the fetus, enabling a retrospective gating of the images and thus the generation of images of the beating heart. To underline the potential of our approach, we acquired in utero images in six pregnant patients and compared these with their echocardiograms. We found good agreement in terms of diameter and area measurements, and low inter- and intra- observer variability. These results establish MRI as a reliable modality for fetal cardiac imaging, with a substantial potential for prenatal evaluation of congenital heart defects.

Language