title: Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging of the fetal brain in utero: Methods and applications.
abstract: Application of modern magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to the live fetus in utero is a relatively recent endeavor. The relative advantages and disadvantages of clinical MRI relative to the widely used and accepted ultrasonographic approach are the subject of a continuing debate; however the focus of this review is on the even younger field of quantitative MRI as applied to non-invasive studies of fetal brain development. The techniques covered under this header include structural MRI when followed by quantitative (e.g., volumetric) analysis, as well as quantitative analyses of diffusion weighted imaging, diffusion tensor imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy and functional MRI. The majority of the published work reviewed here reflects information gathered from normal fetuses scanned during the 3(rd) trimester, with relatively smaller number of studies of pathological samples including common congenital pathologies such as ventriculomegaly and viral infection.
authors.affiliation: Anat Biegon, Department of Neurology and Radiology, School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2565, United States.
authors.forename: Anat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Biegon
authors.affiliation: Anat Biegon, Department of Neurology and Radiology, School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2565, United States.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
keywords: Cortical development; Fetal apparent diffusion coefficients; Fetal brain; Fetal functional magnetic resonance imaging; Fetal magnetic resonance imaging; Fetal magnetic resonance spectroscopy