P09.13: Clinical application of 3D power Doppler ultrasound in fetal medicine and reproductive biology

Abstract

Objective: To assess the clinical application of three-dimensional (3D) power Doppler ultrasound (PDU) in fetal medicine and reproductive biology. Methods: In this project, we evaluated the clinical use of 3D PDU in the following aspects of fetal medicine and reproductive biology. Part I. Fetal medicine: Fetal organ circulation development assessment, including the vascularization and blood flow of (1) fetal brain, (2) fetal liver, and (3) placenta. Part II. Reproductive biology: The difference of ovarian vascularization and blood flow in the following conditions were compared: (1) Pre-, periand post-menopause stages, (2) Before and after hormonal therapy in postmenopausal women, (3) In endometriosis, (4) In polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO), (5) In hyper-responders of IVF patients, and (6) In poorresponders of IVF patients. Results: In fetal medicine, our studies using 3D PDU showed that the brain VI (vascularization index), FI (flow index) and VFI (vascularization-flow index) are increasing with gestational age in normal pregnancies. Similarly, the hepatic VI, FI, and VFI are also increasing with gestational age. Furthermore, the placental VI, FI, and VFI are increasing with gestational age. On the other hand, for the six projects of studies in reproductive biology, 3D PDU revealed that all the blood flow indexes (VI, FI and VFI) are significantly different in each group. Conclusions: From our studies, 3D PDU may be a clinically important tool in the clinical application on fetal medicine and reproductive biology.