Postmortem microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) of small fetuses and hearts

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Pathology
• Developmental Biology

Background:

• Accurate identification of structural anomalies in human fetuses is crucial for understanding developmental disorders.
• Conventional autopsy, while informative, is invasive and may have limitations in visualizing fine anatomical details.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility and utility of contrast-enhanced microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) for identifying structural anomalies.
• To assess its application in ex-vivo first- and second-trimester human fetuses and isolated fetal hearts.

Main Methods:

• Developed radiopaque iodine staining and micro-CT protocols, initially in rodents.
• Applied protocols to fixed human fetuses (n=7, 7-17 weeks) and fetal hearts (n=14, 11-22 weeks).
• Utilized high isotropic resolution (18 µm) and expert interpretation; compared with conventional autopsy for gestational ages ≥13 weeks.

Main Results:

• Micro-CT successfully identified all anatomical structures and abnormalities noted in macroscopic examinations.
• In fetuses and hearts ≤13 weeks, micro-CT ruled out structural anomalies.
• For older specimens, micro-CT provided equivalent information to autopsy/dissection, with additional diagnostic details in 50% of cases.

Conclusions:

• Postmortem contrast-enhanced micro-CT is a feasible method for assessing structural anomalies in ex-vivo fetuses and fetal hearts.
• Further research is needed to validate these findings, especially in whole fetuses.
• The potential of micro-CT as a non-invasive alternative to conventional autopsy warrants further investigation.