Fetal brain tissue characterization at 1.5 T using STrategically Acquired Gradient Echo (STAGE) imaging

Feifei Qu; Taotao Sun; Yongsheng Chen; Brijesh Kumar Yadav; Ling Jiang; Zhaoxia Qian; E Mark Haacke

doi:10.1007/s00330-020-07618-7

Fetal brain tissue characterization at 1.5 T using STrategically Acquired Gradient Echo (STAGE) imaging

Eur Radiol. 2021 Aug;31(8):5586-5594. doi: 10.1007/s00330-020-07618-7. Epub 2021 Feb 1.

Authors

Feifei Qu¹, Taotao Sun^{2

3

4}, Yongsheng Chen⁵, Brijesh Kumar Yadav¹, Ling Jiang^{2

3}, Zhaoxia Qian^#^{6

7

8}, E Mark Haacke^#^{9

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.
² Department of Radiology, International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
³ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Embryo Original Diseases, Shanghai, China.
⁴ Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
⁵ Department of Neurology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.
⁶ Department of Radiology, International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China. zhaoxiaqian@126.com.
⁷ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Embryo Original Diseases, Shanghai, China. zhaoxiaqian@126.com.
⁸ Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China. zhaoxiaqian@126.com.
⁹ Department of Radiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA. nmrimaging@aol.com.
¹⁰ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wayne State University College of Engineering, Detroit, MI, USA. nmrimaging@aol.com.
¹¹ SpinTech, Inc., Bingham Farms, MI, USA. nmrimaging@aol.com.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 33523305
DOI: 10.1007/s00330-020-07618-7

Abstract

Objectives: To estimate human fetal brain MRI tissue properties including apparent T₁ (T_1app) and apparent proton density (PD_app) by using a rapid multi-contrast acquisition protocol called STrategically Acquired Gradient Echo (STAGE) imaging.

Methods: STAGE data were collected using two flip angles (15° and 60°, with a TR = 600 ms) for 30 pregnant women at 1.5 T (15 healthy controls: gestational age (GA) range 19 + 1/7 weeks to 34 + 5/7 weeks; 11 abnormal subjects with ventriculomegaly: GA range 21 + 5/7 weeks to 31 + 5/7 weeks; 4 subjects with other abnormalities). Both T_1app and PD_app maps of the fetal brain were calculated from the STAGE data. A region-of-interest-based approach was used to measure T_1app and PD_app in the subplate/intermediate zone (SP/IZ), cortical plate (CP), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the fetal brain.

Results: The ratios of T_1appSP/IZ/T_1appCP and PD_appSP/IZ/PD_appCP were larger than unity while T_1appSP/IZ/T_1appCSF and PD_appSP/IZ/PD_appCSF were both less than unity.

Conclusions: STAGE imaging provides a potential practical approach to estimate multi-parametric properties of the human fetal brain.

Key points: • STAGE is feasible in measuring fetal brain tissue properties. • Water content in cortical plate and subplate/intermediate zone approaches that of cerebrospinal fluid in early gestational ages.

Keywords: Brain; Fetus; Magnetic resonance imaging.

MeSH terms

Brain* / diagnostic imaging
Cerebral Cortex
Female
Fetus / diagnostic imaging
Humans
Infant
Magnetic Resonance Imaging*
Neuroimaging
Pregnancy