REAL-TIME MRI HELPS ASSESS HEALTH OF FETAL HEARTS

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques can provide real-time measurements of volume of ventricles in a fetal heart, potentially allowing doctors to plan care for infants with heart defects, according to a new study.

Researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia found that using a MRI allows doctors to produce three-dimensional measurements of fetal hearts, providing more exact measurements of the heart's size. The study, published in the September/October issue of Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy, is the first example of a MRI being used for cardiac imaging in fetuses.

Currently doctors use echocardiography, which relies on geometric assumptions to measure how large a fetus' heart is. But this approach only allows doctors to estimate the volume of the heart's ventricles if the heart has a normal shape. Using a MRI provides a clearer view of the heart, even when it is an abnormal shape -- as is possible in many types of heart disease.