Establishment of Fetal Cranial and Intracranial Structure Volume Measurements using Three-dimensional Ultrasound Imaging in a Japanese Population

Abstract

: The goal of this study was to establish a normogram of the intracranial structure volumes in appropriate-for-gestational age AGA Japanese fetuses. This was a cross-sectional and prospective study of 211 AGA fetuses. The total intracranial, cerebrum, ventricle, choroid plexus, cerebellum, cerebellar vermis, and cavum septum pellucidum volumes were measured using three-dimensional 3D ultrasound. The fetal cranial and intracranial structure volumes signi cantly increased with gestational age GA . When using the GA as an independent variable and the fetal cranial or intracranial structure volumes as the dependent variable, the best-t equation for the fetal brain was a second-order polynomial regression equation. We herein provide the rst report of fetal cranial and intracranial structure volumes and their normal growth curves in normal Japanese fetuses. Future 3D ultrasound studies of volume and other intracranial fetal structures could provide valuable information about how such changes may correlate with long-term neurodevelopment and the results may be used for comparisons with fetal growth restriction in the future.