Imaging placental function: current technology, clinical needs, and emerging modalities

The function of the placenta is challenging to characterize and as a result is understudied, despite the growing awareness of the impact of the placental environment on human health and development. Medical imaging has the potential to improve our ability to screen for diseases associated with placental insufficiency, and improve the monitoring and treatment of complex obstetric patients. This review provides an overview of clinical and preclinical imaging modalities currently available for assessing placental function, with an emphasis on emerging preclinical imaging modalities; as a group, these emerging modalities provide exceptional contrast and sensitivity for multimodal functional and molecular imaging of the placenta. Analysis of the successes and failures of medical imaging thus far provides guidance for the research community seeking to develop new imaging systems to assess placental function.