Fetal Cerebral Magnetic Resonance Imaging Beyond Morphology

Abstract

The recent technological advancement of fast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences allowed the inclusion of diffusion tensor imaging, functional MRI, and proton MR spectroscopy in prenatal imaging protocols. These methods provide information beyond morphology and hold the key to improving several fields of human neuroscience and clinical diagnostics. Our review introduces the fundamental works that enabled these imaging techniques, and also highlights the most recent contributions to this emerging field of prenatal diagnostics, such as the structural and functional connectomic approach. We introduce the advanced image processing approaches that are extensively used to tackle fetal or maternal movement-related image artifacts, and which are necessary for the optimal interpretation of such imaging data.