First trimester physiological development of the fetal foot position using three-dimensional ultrasound in virtual...

In anatomic studies of the embryo, it has been established that during the development of the lower limb, several changes in foot position can be observed defined as a temporary 'physiological clubfoot'. The aim of this study was to develop and test a measurement tool for objective documentation of the first trimester foot position in vivo and made an attempt to create a chart for first trimester foot position.

We developed a virtual orthopedic protractor for measuring foot positioning using three-dimensional virtual reality visualization. Three-dimensional ultrasound volumes of 112 pregnancies of women examined during the first trimester were studied in a BARCO I-Space. The frontal angle (plantar flexion) and the lateral angle (adduction) between the leg and foot were measured from 8 until 13 weeks gestational age.

We observed that the frontal angle steadily decreases, whereas the lateral angle first increases, resulting in transient physiological clubfeet position at 10- to 11-week gestation, followed by a decrease to a normal foot position.

A transient clubfoot position is present during the normal development of the lower limbs, and it has been measured in vivo for the first time. This study emphasizes that a diagnosis of congenital clubfoot should not be made in the first trimester of pregnancy.