title: The Use of a Software-Assisted Method to Estimate Fetal Weight at and Near Term Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to apply a semi-automated calculation method of fetal body volume and, thus, of magnetic resonance-estimated fetal weight (MR-EFW) prior to planned delivery and to evaluate whether the technique of measurement could be simplified while remaining accurate.
  
  
  METHODS
  MR-EFW was calculated using a semi-automated method at 38.6 weeks of gestation in 36 patients and compared to the picture archiving and communication system (PACS). Per patient, 8 sequences were acquired with a slice thickness of 4-8 mm and an intersection gap of 0, 4, 8, 12, 16, or 20 mm. The median absolute relative errors for MR-EFW and the time of planimetric measurements were calculated for all 8 sequences and for each method (assisted vs. PACS), and the difference between the methods was calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median delivery weight was 3,280 g. The overall median relative error for all 288 MR-EFW calculations was 2.4% using the semi-automated method and 2.2% for the PACS method. Measurements did not differ between the 8 sequences using the assisted method (p = 0.313) or the PACS (p = 0.118), while the time of planimetric measurement decreased significantly with a larger gap (p < 0.001) and in the assisted method compared to the PACS method (p < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our simplified MR-EFW measurement showed a dramatic decrease in time of planimetric measurement without a decrease in the accuracy of weight estimates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Brugmann, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kadji
authors.forename: Maxime
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Groof
authors.forename: Margaux F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Camus
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De Angelis
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fellas
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Klass
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cecotti
authors.forename: Vivien
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dütemeyer
authors.forename: Elie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Barakat
authors.forename: Mieke M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Cannie
authors.forename: Jacques C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Jani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D020567:Fetal Weight; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D012984:Software
keywords: Estimation of weight; Fetal body volume; Fetal weight; Magnetic resonance imaging; Manual tracing; Software-assisted method