Oral Presentation ESA-SRB-APEG-NZSE 2022

Imaging and computational tools to assess the placenta in fetal growth restriction (#146)

Alys Clark 1 , Toby Jackson 1 , Sophie Couper 1 , Mary Spring 1 , Devanshi Jani 1 , Seyed Ali Mirjalili 1 , Peter Stone 1 , Jo James 1
  1. University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Fetal growth restriction is a complex multi-factorial condition that can be difficult to detect clinically. There are several known anatomical and functional differences in placentae from fetal growth restricted pregnancies compared with normal pregnancies. These differences are exhibited across a range of spatial scales from the size of the placenta to a sparser blood vessel and capillary network within the placenta. These differences impact the placentas ability to deliver oxygenated blood to the fetus, and hence fetal growth. Traditionally ultrasound imaging has been used to infer the function of the placenta by Doppler assessments in the major utero- and feto-placental arteries. However, recent years have seen a rise in new techniques to investigate the placenta both in vivo (magnetic resonance imaging) and ex vivo (high resolution 3D imaging such as microCT). Here I will present computational modelling as a tool to interpret imaging of the placenta and explain its current and potential future roles in interpreting magnetic resonance imaging, and in linking imaging data from in vivo and ex vivo modalities. Finally, I will discuss steps toward interpreting fetal and uterine Doppler imaging, guided by computational modelling, that may in the future provide a means to better identify at risk pregnancies.