Texture analysis of magnetic resonance images of the human placenta throughout gestation: A feasibility study

As fetal gestational age increases, other modalities such as ultrasound have demonstrated increased levels of heterogeneity in the normal placenta. In this study, we introduce and apply ROI-based texture analysis to a retrospective fetal MRI database to characterize the second-order statistics of pl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPloS one Vol. 14; no. 1; p. e0211060
Main Authors Do, Quyen N, Lewis, Matthew A, Madhuranthakam, Ananth J, Xi, Yin, Bailey, April A, Lenkinski, Robert E, Twickler, Diane M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Public Library of Science 22.01.2019
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects
Adult
Age
Aging
Biology and Life Sciences
Brain
Brain research
Feasibility studies
Female
Fetuses
Gestation
Gestational Age
Gynecology
Health aspects
Heterogeneity
Humans
Magnetic resonance
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Medical imaging
Medicine and Health Sciences
NMR
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Obstetrics
Open source software
Placenta
Placenta - diagnostic imaging
Placental Insufficiency - diagnostic imaging
Pregnancy
Prenatal development
Research and Analysis Methods
Statistical analysis
Texture
Ultrasonic imaging
Ultrasound
Uterus
United States > US
Texas
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Summary:As fetal gestational age increases, other modalities such as ultrasound have demonstrated increased levels of heterogeneity in the normal placenta. In this study, we introduce and apply ROI-based texture analysis to a retrospective fetal MRI database to characterize the second-order statistics of placenta and to evaluate the relationship between heterogeneity and gestational age. Positive correlations were observed for several Haralick texture metrics derived from fetal-brain specific T2-weighted and gravid uterus T1-weighted and T2-weighted images, confirming a quantitative increase in placental heterogeneity with gestational age. Our study shows the importance of identifying baseline MR textural changes at certain gestational ages from which placental diseased states may be compared. Specifically, when evaluating for placental invasion or insufficiency, findings should be evaluated in the context of the normal placental aging process, which occurs throughout gestation.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0211060