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A novel approach to assessing fetal tissue stiffness using virtual touch tissue quantification.
Xiao-Zhi Zheng1, Jing Wu1, Xu-Yan Tan2
1Department of Ultrasound, The First People's Hospital of Yancheng, Yancheng,P.R.China.
Medical Ultrasonography
|March 11, 2016
Summary
Virtual touch tissue quantification (VTTQ) provides normal shear wave velocity (SWV) values for fetal organs. This method objectively tracks gestational age-related changes in fetal brain stiffness.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Biophysics
- Fetal Medicine
Background:
- Virtual Touch Tissue Quantification (VTTQ) is established for adult tissue stiffness assessment.
- Limited data exists on VTTQ application in fetal development.
Purpose of the Study:
- Establish normal shear wave velocity (SWV) values for fetal brain, lung, and liver using VTTQ.
- Evaluate VTTQ's clinical utility in assessing gestational age-related SWV changes in fetal organs.
Main Methods:
- One hundred fetuses were assessed in their second (18 weeks) and third (35 weeks) trimesters.
- SWV measurements were taken from fetal cerebral parenchyma, thalamus, cerebellum, choroid plexus, lungs, and liver lobes.
Main Results:
- Fetal cerebral parenchyma SWV was significantly higher in the third trimester compared to the second (p<0.001).
- No significant differences in SWV were observed for thalamus, cerebellum, choroid plexus, lungs, or liver between trimesters (p>0.05).
- Fetal cerebral parenchyma SWV showed a significant positive correlation with gestational age (r=0.47, p<0.001).
Conclusions:
- VTTQ successfully quantifies fetal brain, lung, and liver stiffness.
- VTTQ objectively measures gestational age-related changes in fetal cerebral parenchyma stiffness via SWV.
