Placental Infarction in Fetal MRI: Value of Flow Voids Between the Uterus and the Placenta

Yoshimitsu Ohgiya¹, Hiroshi Nobusawa², Jumpei Suyama¹, Syouei Sai¹, Makoto Saiki¹, Takashi Hashizume¹, Noritaka Seino¹, Masanori Hirose¹, Takehiko Gokan¹

The purpose of this study was to evaluate diminished flow voids on T2-weight RARE MR imaging of the placenta in fetuses with and fetuses without IUGR who were suspected of having placental infarction. The use of diminished flow voids in addition to morphologic signs increased sensitivity for the detection of placental infarction from 66.7% to 83.3%, increased accuracy from 81.5% to 86.8%, and preserved specificity at 90.0%. Evaluating flow voids on T2-weighted RARE images can be useful for detecting placental infarctions, particularly in placentas without morphologic signs on MR imaging.