Utility of MRI With Doppler Ultrasound Gating for Advanced Fetal Monitoring

Utility of MRI With Doppler Ultrasound Gating for Advanced Fetal Monitoring

We will test an ultrasound device that uses sound waves to detect the fetal heart beat, and use this device to tell the MRI scanner when to collect pictures of the fetal heart. This will help freeze motion of the fetal heart, to make MRI pictures sharper. This will be important for assessing human fetal heart disease, an active area of research at our institution.

Inclusion Criteria:

• pregnant adults (age 18 and up) with fetus affected by congenital heart disease
• singleton pregnancy in their 2nd and 3rd trimesters
• scheduled for a clinical fetal ultrasound examination at the Fetal Echocardiography Clinic at SickKids

Exclusion Criteria:

• claustrophobia
• cardiac pacemaker
• non-MRI compatible implants
• non-singleton pregnancy
• obesity (BMI > 30)