Enhanced Imaging of the Fetal Brain Microstructure

胎脑显微结构的增强成像 胎儿时期的大脑发育是至关重要的，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 在子宫内和怀孕期间发展的条件。特别是循环异常引起的缺氧， 被假设为破坏神经元迁移，从而导致改变的大脑连接和不利的 神经学结果。在新生儿和青少年中， 危重先天性心脏病（CHD）使用弥散加权成像（DWI）。脑部大体异常 也在产前使用子宫内T2加权磁共振对CHD进行了鉴定和定量 但是，导致这些损伤的神经元迁移中断的精确位置和时间， 由于宫内DWI的技术限制，异常仍然不清楚。在这个项目中，我们的目标 开发新的DWI技术，消除这些障碍，以提高我们的理解， 胎儿脑微结构的成熟以及其在子宫内改变的起源和模式。在 特别是，我们的目标是开发新的技术，以解决目前胎儿DWI技术的局限性， 有效地减轻和补偿采集期间的运动和几何失真伪影。 因此，该项目旨在创建一个范式转变的方式胎儿DWI的收购和分析。的 该项目的三个具体目标是：1）创建一个前瞻性的运动校正切片导航系统 对于胎儿脑DWI，2）通过伪影减少和补偿增强胎儿DWI采集， 开发新的成像和图像重建技术，用于动态场标测，以及3）评估 先天性心脏病的胎儿脑成熟我们将评估这些技术的效用和影响 通过分析和比较一个大的预先存在的胎儿DWI扫描队列， 这些扫描前瞻性地从典型发育（TD）和CHD胎儿中获得， 技术.此外，我们期望获得有关神经元早期破坏的重要知识， 迁移途径和脑连接的形成，由于血液循环受损和缺氧， 胎儿CHD。通过使胎儿DWI更加可靠和稳健，这项研究将减轻胎儿DWI的关键障碍。 在发育神经学和神经科学领域取得进展。更好地了解 子宫内不良事件对胎儿大脑生长的影响以及大脑发育改变的轨迹 可以帮助指导神经保护和治疗干预，并使早期，更有效的治疗， 治疗神经系统疾病和精神疾病胎儿DWI在建立这样一个 因为它能够独特地描绘子宫内胎儿大脑的微观结构。

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.