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Updated: May 23, 2026
State of the Art Cranial Ultrasound Imaging in Neonates
Published on: February 2, 2015
Factors influencing visualization of the intracranial translucency during first-trimester screening for aneuploidy
Carmen J Beamon1, Alison M Stuebe, Honor M Wolfe
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, 27599-7516, USA. carmen_beamon@med.unc.edu
Objective:
Neural tube defects occur in 1/2000 live births. Imaging of the intracranial translucency (IT) during first-trimester screening has been proposed as an early screen for open neural tube defects (ONTD). This study evaluates visualization of the IT and factors influencing its visualization during first-trimester ultrasound screening for aneuploidy.
Methods:
Ultrasound images for patients undergoing first-trimester screening for aneuploidy from January 1, 2009, through July 31, 2009, were reviewed for IT visualization, defined as an intracranial translucency parallel to the nuchal translucency. Second-trimester ultrasounds and delivery records were reviewed for the presence of fetal ONTD.
Results:
The IT was visualized in 74.8% of 759 gestations studied at a mean gestational age of 12 weeks, 5 days. Among gestations where the IT was visualized, we found a larger crown-rump length, lower maternal weight, and more fetuses in the supine position (p < 0.0001). Predictive models for visualization of the IT were formulated based on these factors.
Conclusion:
The IT can be visualized in the majority of patients in the standard midsagittal plane used for measurement of the nuchal translucency. Visualization is significantly associated with crown-rump length, gestational age, maternal weight, and fetal position. Visualization of the IT is feasible.
