Diffusion-weighted MR imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient of the normal fetal lung: preliminary experience.
OBJECTIVE
To assess if a correlation is present between apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and normal lung maturation during gestation to define potential reference values as indicators of the lung development.


METHODS
Our study included 50 pregnant women (gestational age, GA: 18-36 weeks), with normal fetal development of lungs assessed by a previous obstetric ultrasound (US), and then confirmed by our magnetic resonance (MR) examination. We used T2-weighted sequences, diffusion-weighted imaging sequences (DWI) and ADC maps for studying pulmonary tissue. In all cases the resulting ADC values were related to GA using Pearson correlation.


RESULTS
ADC values ranged from 1,2 microm(2)/ms at 18 weeks' gestation to 3,9 microm(2)/ms at 36 weeks' gestation with a mean value, regardless for the gestational age, of 2, 352 +/- 0,623106 microm(2)/ms. We found a significant correlation between ADC and gestational age (Pearson correlation = 0,816).


CONCLUSIONS
The ADC values correlate with gestational age since alveolar fluid secretion and angiogenesis increase gradually. Therefore, ADC can be considered as a new parameter for studying lung maturity.
Department of Radiological Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
Lucia
L
Manganaro
Anna
A
Perrone
Simona
S
Sassi
Francesca
F
Fierro
Sara
S
Savelli
Marco
M
Di Maurizio
Alessandra
A
Tomei
Antonella
A
Francioso
Laura
L
La Barbera
Antonella
A
Giancotti
Laura
L
Ballesio
D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000196:embryology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012016:Reference Values