Enhanced Imaging of the Fetal Brain Microstructure

胎儿脑微结构的增强成像 大脑发育的胎儿期是至关重要的，因为它涉及复杂的细胞增殖过程， 神经元迁移和髓鞘形成，特别容易受到不良事件的干扰 在子宫内和在怀孕期间发展的条件。具体地说，就是血液循环异常引起的缺氧， 假设会扰乱神经元的迁移，从而导致大脑连接改变和不良反应 神经学结果。新生儿和青少年的大脑连接异常被描述为 弥散加权成像(DWI)诊断危重先天性心脏病(CHD)大体脑部异常 在产前使用宫内T2加权磁共振对CHD进行了识别和量化 磁共振成像(MRI)，但导致这些的神经元迁移中断的准确位置和时间 由于宫内弥散加权成像的技术限制，目前尚不清楚是否存在异常。在这个项目中，我们的目标是 致力于开发新的DWI技术，消除这些障碍，以提高我们对 胎儿脑微结构的成熟及其宫内改变的起源和模式。在……里面 特别是，我们的目标是开发新的技术，通过以下方式解决当前胎儿DWI技术的局限性 有效减轻和补偿采集过程中的运动和几何失真伪影。 因此，该项目寻求在获取和分析胎儿弥散加权成像的方式上创造一种范式转变。这个 该项目的三个具体目标是：1)创建一个预期的运动校正切片导航系统 对于胎脑DWI，2)通过减少伪影和通过以下方式补偿来增强胎儿DWI采集 开发用于动态场映射的新成像和图像重建技术，以及3)评估 先天性心脏病的胎脑发育成熟。我们将评估这些技术的效用和影响 通过分析和比较大量先前存在的胎儿DWI扫描和 这些扫描是从典型发育的(TD)和CHD胎儿身上获得的，这些新的 技巧。此外，我们希望获得有关神经元早期破坏的重要知识。 血液循环受损和缺氧所致的脑迁移途径和脑连接的形成 患有先天性心脏病的胎儿。通过使胎儿弥散加权成像更加可靠和可靠，这项研究将缓解 在发育神经学和神经科学领域取得进展。更好地理解 宫内不良事件对胎儿脑发育的影响及脑发育改变的轨迹 有助于指导神经保护和治疗干预，并使早期、更有效的治疗成为可能 治疗神经系统疾病和精神障碍。胎儿磁共振弥散加权成像在建立这样的 了解，因为它是唯一能够描绘胎儿大脑在子宫中的微观结构。

Enhanced Imaging of the Fetal Brain Microstructure The fetal period of brain development is critical as it involves complex processes of cell proliferation, neuronal migration, and myelination that are particularly vulnerable to disturbances from adverse events in utero and conditions that develop during gestation. Specifically, hypoxia caused by abnormal circulation, is hypothesized to disrupt neuronal migration thereby causing altered brain connectivity and adverse neurological outcomes. Abnormal brain connectivity has been depicted in newborns and adolescents with critical congenital heart disease (CHD) using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Gross brain abnormalities have also been identified and quantified prenatally in CHD using in utero T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but the precise location and timing of disrupted neuronal migration that leads to these abnormalities, has remained unclear due to technological limitations of in utero DWI. In this project we aim at developing new DWI technologies that remove these barriers to improve our understanding of the maturation of fetal brain microstructure as well as the origins and patterns of its alterations in utero. In particular, we aim to develop new techniques to address the limitations of current fetal DWI technology by effectively mitigating and compensating for motion and geometric distortion artifacts during acquisitions. This project therefore seeks to create a paradigm shift in the way fetal DWI is acquired and analyzed. The three specific aims of the project are to 1) create a prospectively motion-corrected slice navigation system for fetal brain DWI, 2) enhance fetal DWI acquisitions with artifact reduction and compensation by developing new imaging and image reconstruction techniques for dynamic field mapping, and 3) evaluate fetal brain maturation in congenital heart disease. We will assess the utility and impact of the technologies developed in this project by analyzing and comparing a large pre-existing cohort of fetal DWI scans with the scans prospectively acquired from both typically-developing (TD) and CHD fetuses with these new techniques. Moreover, we expect to gain important knowledge about early disruptions to neuronal migration pathways and formation of brain connections due to compromised circulation and hypoxia in fetuses with CHD. By making fetal DWI more reliable and robust, this study will mitigate a critical barrier to making progress in the fields of developmental neurology and neuroscience. Improved understanding of the impact of adverse events in utero on fetal brain growth and the trajectories of altered brain development can help guide neuroprotective and therapeutic interventions, and enable early, more effective treatments for neurological diseases and mental disorders. Fetal DWI plays a crucial role in establishing such an understanding as it is uniquely able to depict the microstructure of the fetal brain in utero.