Automatic flow planning for fetal cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging

Silva SN, Woodgate T, McElroy S, Cleri M, Clair KS, Verdera JA, Payette K, Uus A, Story L, Lloyd D, Rutherford MA, Hajnal JV, Pushparajah K, Hutter J (2025)


Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Book Volume: 27

Article Number: 101888

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1016/j.jocmr.2025.101888

Abstract

Background: Widening access to fetal flow imaging by automating real-time planning of two-dimensional (2D) phase-contrast flow imaging (OWL). Methods: Two subsequent deep learning networks for fetal body localization and cardiac landmark detection on a coronal whole-uterus scan were trained on 167 and 71 fetal datasets, respectively, and implemented for real-time automatic planning of phase-contrast sequences. OWL was evaluated retrospectively in ten datasets and prospectively in seven fetal subjects (36+3–39+3 gestational weeks), with qualitative and quantitative comparisons to manual planning. Results: OWL was successfully implemented in 6/7 prospective cases. Fetal body localization achieved a Dice score of 0.94 ± 0.05, and cardiac landmark detection accuracies were 5.77 ± 2.91 mm (descending aorta), 4.32 ± 2.44 mm (spine), and 4.94 ± 3.82 mm (umbilical vein). Planning quality was 2.73/4 (automatic) and 3.0/4 (manual). Indexed flow measurements differed by −1.8% (range −14.2% to 14.9%) between OWL and manual planning. Conclusion: OWL achieved real-time automated planning of 2D phase-contrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) for two major vessels, demonstrating feasibility at 0.55T with potential generalization across field strengths, extending access to this modality beyond specialized centers.

Involved external institutions

How to cite

APA:

Silva, S.N., Woodgate, T., McElroy, S., Cleri, M., Clair, K.S., Verdera, J.A.,... Hutter, J. (2025). Automatic flow planning for fetal cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, 27(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocmr.2025.101888

MLA:

Silva, Sara Neves, et al. "Automatic flow planning for fetal cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging." Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance 27.1 (2025).

BibTeX: Download