Fetal demise (FD) occurs in 1/1000 pregnancies after 20 weeks gestation. MRI is increasingly being used after ultrasound to assess fetal pathology. FD may occur in the interval between ultrasound and MRI, and various organ systems have been described as having changes on fetal MRI. Although ultrasound findings of FD have been well described, criteria for FD on MRI have not. Diffusion MRI evaluates Na⁺/K⁺ channel viability and can be used to evaluate tissue death. Flowing blood produces signal loss on MRI, and along with fetal heart activity results in MRI signal loss of the cardiac chambers. FD with no heart motion and increased signal within non-flowing blood in the heart should result in increased signal in the chambers relative to the myocardium. Either of these findings can be seen with different fetal pathology, but the combination of brain and cardiac changes may allow for a diagnosis of FD. We hypothesize that restricted brain diffusion in certain brain lobes along with increased signal within heart chambers is specific for FD. Read More

Meeting name: SPR 2017 Annual Meeting & Categorical Course , 2017

Authors: Bhargava Ravi, Anderson Scott, Chari Radha

Keywords: Fetal MRI, Brain, Cardiac