Visualizing cerebral veins in fetal brain using susceptibility-weighted MRI

To explore the feasibility of two-dimensional (2D) susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) in the visualization of cerebral veins in the foetal brain.

Forty-two pregnant healthy women (gestational age: 19-37 weeks, mean: 28.5 ± 7.1 weeks) underwent SWI examination using a 1.5 T MRI system. Two neurologists independently analysed all magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. The relationship between the veins detected and the gestational age was investigated. The prominence of veins was assessed using a categorical score.

In total, 167 veins were detected by SWI in 29 subjects with a symmetric hemisphere distribution (p > 0.05). An additional vein was detected by SWI biweekly from 24 weeks of gestation. Most veins of Galen and internal cerebral veins on SWI images were prominent, whereas others were faint or moderate.

SWI appears to be a feasible method of detecting cerebral veins in the foetal brain.