Automatic measurement of fetal Nuchal translucency from three-dimensional ultrasound data

Abstract

The Nuchal translucency (NT), which is the collection of fluid at the back of the fetal neck, is related to chromosomal defects and early cardiac failure in first trimester of pregnancy. In clinic, the thickness of NT is used as an important marker in prenatal screening, and is manually measured by sonographers in the mid-sagittal plane. In this paper, an automatic method based on dynamic programming is proposed to detect the thickness and area of NT in the mid-sagittal plane. Furthermore, the volume of NT in the whole three-dimensional ultrasound data is also measured. A novel cost function for dynamic programming is proposed and results in higher accuracy of NT border detection. As the nuchal translucency is the collection fluid part, higher dimensional markers of NT possess more potential to represent the amount of the fluid.