Three-dimensional ultrasound image of the fetal stomach: congenital duodenal obstruction in utero.
To quantitatively characterize the stereographic stomach configuration in utero, 11 fetuses (subject-group) with congenital duodenal obstruction, diagnosed antenatally, between 29 and 37 weeks' gestation were studied. Also included were 879 uncomplicated fetuses between 20 and 40 weeks' gestation as a control-group. Applying the algorithm which we devised: "Modeling a three-dimensional shape from a silhouette by detecting symmetry", we reconstructed the three-dimensional stomach configuration from a two-dimensional ultrasound image for each case. The statistical differences in two parameters, stomach volume and sphericity, between subject- and control-group fetuses, were analyzed using the Grubbs-Smirnoff's test at corresponding gestational ages. From 29 to 37 weeks' gestation, the stomach volume in the subject-group fetuses was found to increase greatly with advancing gestation, having significantly higher values than the control-group fetuses, whereas the stomach sphericity remained unchanged with no significant differences from the control-group fetuses. These findings indicate that the fetal stomach with duodenal obstruction maintains almost the same three-dimensional portrayal in utero as that seen in uncomplicated fetuses, although the stomach becomes extremely enlarged.
Yoshizato
T
T
Maternal and Perinatal Care Unit, Kyushu University Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan.
Koyanagi
T
T
Nagata
S
S
Takashima
T
T
Fukushima
S
S
Nakano
H
H
D004378:Duodenal Diseases / Q000151:congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000196:embryology; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007415:Intestinal Obstruction / Q000151:congenital / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000196:embryology; D011247:Pregnancy; D013270:Stomach / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000196:embryology*; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal