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Updated: Jun 16, 2026
Human Fetal Blood Flow Quantification with Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Motion Compensation
Published on: January 7, 2021
Non-invasive detection and quantification of human foetal brain lactate in utero by magnetic resonance spectroscopy
Geoffrey D Charles-Edwards1, Wajanat Jan, Meekai To
1Department of Medical Physics, Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. geoff.charles-edwards@kcl.ac.uk
Objective:
To assess the feasibility of foetal cerebral lactate detection and quantification by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) in pregnancies at increased risk of cerebral hypoxia, using a clinical 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system.
Method:
Localised (1)H-MRS was performed in four patients with pregnancies in their third trimester complicated by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). A long echo time (TE) of 288 ms was used to maximise detection and conspicuity of the lactate methyl resonance, together with a short TE MRS acquisition to check for the presence of lipid contamination. Individual peaks in the resulting spectra were measured, corrected for relaxation and referenced to the unsuppressed water signal to provide metabolite concentrations.
Results:
A resonance peak consistent with the presence of lactate was observed in all cases. In one subject, this was confounded by the identification of significant lipid contamination in the short TE MRS acquisition. The range of measured lactate concentrations was 2.0-3.3 mmol/kg and compared well with preterm neonatal MRS studies.
Conclusion:
The non-invasive detection and quantification of foetal cerebral lactate by MRS is achievable on a clinical 1.5 T MRI system.
