Fetal MRI Analysis

One of the most important determinant of fetal viability is the pulmonary system development and maturity. The prenatal awareness of any abnormalities or anomalies going to ensure better management of the pregnancy, also giving the opportunity for the medical team and parents to prepare for the delivery and postnatal treatment. Congenital malformations of the fetal thorax are common which can involve many organs. Early detection and accurate diagnosis of fetal pathology are possible by using ultrasound and MRI imaging.

Complete the chart below. Remember that every fetus has its own growth pattern, but this chart shows the general development of the average fetus. The same is true for the effects the pregnancy will have on the mother. In addition, you need to find and print an image that is representational of the fetus during each month. The third month has been completed for you as an example of what I’m looking for. DETAILS MATTER!!! Due October 6th

Birth defects can have life threatening consequences for the fetus. Many birth defects can be detected during pregnancy by an ultrasound. Some of these abnormalities include abdominal wall defect, orofacial cleft, anencephaly, and down syndrome. Although at this time ultrasound is the safest way to observe a fetus, risks are still associated with it.

In a postprocessing step, acquired MRI data were exported to a remote workstation and data analysis commenced off-line, using a customized MATLAB program (R2014b; MathWorks). With this procedure, the water and fat images could be calculated, which were further used for SAT and VAT segmentation.

MRI is a noninvasive diagnostic examination with on ionizing radiation & no known associated negative side effects or reported delayed sequels. The American College of Radiology white paper on MR safety states that pregnant patients can be accepted to undergo MR images at any stage of pregnancy if the risk-benefit ratio to the patient warrants that the study be performed and only if other non-ionizing diagnostic imaging methods are inadequate.

The brain tissue of a Neonatal is different from the adult brain because the adult brain is a well-developed one but the brain tissue of a neonatal brain is in developing stage, also it is very small in dimension, and fluid movement inside the brain during the scan make it difficult to differentiation various tissues. Hence a refined Neonatal Brain image processing technique is

Ultrasounds help in diagnosing problems such as, physical defects and internal abnormalities of an unborn baby. “Ultrasound allows the doctor to see inside the uterus and provides much information about the pregnancy” (Radiologic Society of North America, 2013). However, some people believe that ultrasound negatively affects the tissues of the body. “When ultrasound enters the body, it heats the tissues slightly. In some cases, it can also produce small pockets of gas in body fluids or tissues known as cavitation,” (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2014). Some also believe that the force of acoustic streaming during an ultrasound can cause fetal damage. “While the effect of this force is not fully understood, research suggests that it may change cell permeability and have adverse effects on both early and late prenatal and postnatal development” (Kresser, 2011). So no matter what procedure is being performed, there are always risks and benefits involved. Although, most pregnant women are worried about the potential risks of their unborn child, they are more worried about how their child is developing inside their womb. Most pregnant women look forward to these exams so they can be aware of their unborn child’s growth and prepare if any abnormalities are

There are numerous external factors that occur during pregnancy that have a huge influence on the effect of fetal growth. During gestational development, a critical period is a time in which a baby’s vital organ systems are formed. This is considered to be a vital developmental stage for a fetus, and a time in which the fetus is most vulnerable to acquiring deformities caused by external factors, known as teratogens (Potter, Perry, Hall, & Stockert, 2017, p. 141). Some common examples of teratogens are alcohol, tobacco, medications, chemicals, viruses, and conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes. Other factors that may influence fetal growth include vitamin intake and mother’s age.

ef{tab:1} shows a list of finite element studies that included diffusion tensor imaging tractography in the injury analysis. Most of the studies (citealt{colgan2010, wright2012, wright2013, Kraft2012, sahoo2014, kleiven2014}) used a diffusion tensor imaging apprised anisotropic material models to represent brain tissue during the analysis. The axonal strains were then calculated using explicit post processing steps. These studies mapped multiple voxels from DTI data to a single element in the finite element model using an averaged fiber orientation/ fiber dispersion measure. To account for the effect of multiple fiber orientations per element, researchers used fractional anisotropy informed material models to represent brain tissue (citealt{wright2013,sahoo2014,kleiven2014}). However, calculating an averaged representation of fiber orientations and fiber dispersion values over multiple voxels might cause a loss of some axonal strain information and accuracy of the material model. %Therefore, there is a strong need to develop a robust methodology for constructing a 3D FE head model that can accommodate both the anisotropic response and high level of anatomical detail. At the same time, this should avoid the need for complex mapping schemes (mapping DTI

The conventional scanning methods display grainy pictures of the foetus and required the help of a trained

Sonograms are cheaper than many of the other options available to gain information about a baby still inside its mother, for example MRI’s, but this in no way takes away their value. Sonograms are a great choice for the reason that while being cheap they give accurate and important information almost instantly. The growth of technology has allowed for sonogram equipment to become more compact, creating a portable and handheld device that comes in handy in many situations. It is easy to transfer not only across the hospital, but also across the

Gestational sac measurement : Mean sac diameter (MSD) is measured using the sum of three orthogonal dimensions of the fluid-sac wall interface divided by three. Gestational sac is first visualized by transabdominal sonography at 5 weeks. MSD increases at the rate of 1mm/day in early gestation. At 5.5 weeks a yolk sac appears. At six weeks an embryo first appears adjacent to the yolk sac.(11)

The placenta is an essential organ known for synthesising growth factors and angiogenic factors for its own growth and fetal development throughout gestation. The placenta is made up of two morphologically and functionally distinct zonal layers, the junctional (JZ) and labyrinth zone (LZ). The JZ is made up of trophohoblasts and maternal blood vessels but no fetal vessel, and is the major site for the production of hormones (Choi et al. 2005). The LZ on the other hand is too made up of trophoblast cells but also both maternal and fetal vessels and is thus, the major site for maternal-fetal exchange (Waddell et al. 2000). As gestation progresses towards term, we expect there to not just be an increase in fetal weight, but also

Over time, collected data from the third trimester (G130) of all pregnancies resulted in a significant decrease in blood volume flow of the HFD maternal and the placental portion of the fetus.

Morbidly adherent placenta (MAP) is a serious disorder in pregnancy, causing maternal mortality rates as high as 7% (Wortman 2013 ).The incidence of this condition has increased in recent years, possibly due to a global rise in caesarean section rates (except Japan)(Al-Khan 2014; Comstock 2014;Vogel 2015).The World Health Organization (WHO) has suggested a caesarean delivery rate of 15% as an acceptable standard(Feng 2012). Caesarean delivery rates of 50% and above are common in some areas of China and Brazil (Cavallaro 2013;Feng 2012; Vogel 2015;).