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Key Concepts to Memorize
Central research question: "Pregnancy as a window into the future"
- Why do 8% of all pregnancies end before the 37th week (preterm birth)?
- Preterm birth = single biggest cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity; costs 3.4 billion £
- Pre-eclampsia = leading cause of maternal death in the world; gives mother 8× increased cardiovascular risk
- Preterm birth → high risk of lifelong neurodevelopmental & motoric disability
The placenta:
- Only connection between mother and baby
- Least studied organ — also the only transient organ in the human body
- Functions: O2/nutrient delivery (high O2 content via spiral arteries), waste clearance
- In pre-eclampsia: damaged villous trees + non-remodelled spiral arteries
sMRT Lab — 4 research focuses:
1. Bespoke imaging guided by clinical questions
2. Sensor control & real-time AI
3. Dedicated analysis & individualized prediction
4. Translation & prospective clinical studies
T2\ mapping for placental oxygenation:**
- Oxygenated vs. deoxygenated haemoglobin have different T2\* relaxation times
- Acquisition at multiple echo times (TE) → monoexponential fitting
- Long T2 → high O2 content; Short T2 → low O2 content
- Pre-eclamptic placentas show significantly lower T2\* values
Key imaging challenges in pregnancy:
- Motion (fetal movement, contractions)
- Size/distance
- Safety limitations for in-utero imaging
- Artifacts
- Complex dynamic events
Motion correction in fetal MRI:
- "Snapshot" 2D sequences (<200 ms) freeze motion in individual slices
- Multiple stacks acquired in several directions
- 3D reconstruction using Super-Resolution + Deep Learning
Preterm birth prediction model:
- Combines: placental T2, brain T2, US UtA PI value, previous preterm birth history
- Processing time reduced from several hours to 10 minutes (with AI)
- Achieves R² > 0.7, RMSE < 2 weeks gestational age