Fetal diffusion imaging: pearls and solutions

Recently, diffusion-weighted (DWI) magnetic resonance imaging of the fetus has evolved from a basic research application to an important diagnostic imaging tool in fetal magnetic resonance imaging. Although technically challenging and still plagued with several sources of artifacts, DWI can add clinically important information, which cannot be provided by any other prenatal imaging modality. Its potential to noninvasively probe tissue structures on the basis of Brownian molecular motion enables the detection of early changes associated with acute fetal diseases, as well as structural alterations of functionally diverse compartments of different fetal organs. In this article, the current clinical applications of fetal brain and body DWI are outlined, as well as its current limitations.