Christina Malamateniou1, Amy McGuinness1,
Prachi Patkee1, Joanna M. Allsop1, Mary A. Rutherford1,
Jo V. Hajnal1
1Imaging Sciences Department, MRC
Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital,
London, United Kingdom
Image
quality of standard gradient echo T1-weighted fetal brain MRI acquisitions is
poor because of artefacts relating to fetal and maternal motion. The Snapshot
Inversion Recovery (SNAPIR) sequence, an optimised T1-weighted protocol using
single shot techniques, offers a potential robust alternative to standard
T1-weighted methods. Qualitative analysis showed that significantly increased
visualisation of the fetal brain anatomy was achieved with SNAPIR in 24 out
of 32 anatomical structures studied, compared to the reference protocol.
Additionally, quantitative analysis showed that SNAPIR presented with
significantly increased contrast ratios between grey and white matter in the
upper (p=0.01) and lower cerebrum (p=0.0001).