Fetal Length Research Articles

Association patterns of fetal head dimensions, postcranial body growth and neonatal size.

The association patterns between fetal biometry at the first, second and third trimester and neonatal size were analyzed using a dataset of 3814 singleton term birth taking place at the Viennese Danube hospital in Austria between 2005 and 2013. In this electronic medical record-based study, fetal biometry was estimated by the results of three ultrasound examinations carried out at the 11th/12th, 20th/21th and 32nd/33rdweek of gestation. In detail, crown-rump length, biparietal diameter, fronto-occipital diameter, head circumference, abdominal transverse diameter, abdominal anterior-posterior diameter, abdominal circumference, and femur length were determined. Birth weight, birth length and head circumference were measured within one hour after birth. Fetal head size, abdominal dimensions and femur length intercorrelated positively from the second trimester onwards and correlated significantly positively with neonatal size (r = 0.04 to 0.46). Despite these allometric associations between fetal and newborn parameters, principal component analyses showed that parameters indicating body fat/weight, head or brain size and skeletal growth load on separate components. Consequently, under optimal circumstances during pregnancy, head growth, fat accumulation and skeletal growth show independent incremental patterns from the second trimester onwards.

The value of mid-trimester fetal liver length measurement in prediction of gestational diabetes in Iraqi women

Background. Gestational diabetes (GD) is a hyperglycaemic state specific to pregnancy. A well-tolerated, quick and minimally-invasive method for the early detection of GD in pregnancy is lacking. Objective. To evaluate the correlation between the mid-trimester length of the fetal liver and GD. Methods. A prospective study was conducted at the National Endocrine and Diabetic Center, College of Medicine, Al-Mustansiriya University, Iraq and the Obstetric and Gynecological Department at Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital, Iraq, from September 2016 to September 2018. One-hundred-and-twenty singleton pregnant women at high risk for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) were recruited. An ultrasound scan was performed at 23 weeks’ gestation followed by a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 24 weeks. A correlation was assessed between the mid-trimester fetal liver length (FLL) measurement and the OGTT. Results. Mean (SD) FLL values were significantly higher among GDM patients v. healthy pregnant females respectively: 37.2 (3.4) v. 33.1 (2.7); p <0.001. Univariate analysis showed that FLL in GDM group was 1.6 times the non-GDM group (odds ratio (OR) 1.6; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.31 - 1.96). There was no significant change after adjustment for parity and cumulative risk factors. Based on the above, FLL is an independent predictor for GDM (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.30 - 1.96; p <0.05). Conclusion. FLL measurement by ultrasound at 23 weeks’ gestation is a feasible alternative to OGGT for the early detection of GDM in high-risk patients

Fetal kidney charts of a novel measurement of the renal parenchymal thickness to evaluate fetal kidney growth and potential function.

The objective of this study was to develop new standard growth charts for fetal renal parenchymal thickness, length, and volume to define normal ranges for use in clinical practice and to assess the reliability of these measurements. This was a prospective, longitudinal study of 72 low-risk singleton pregnancies undergoing serial ultrasound examinations at least every four weeks. Multiple renal measurements were performed on both kidneys at each scan. The renal parenchymal thickness was measured in the mid-sagittal plane. Standard charts were developed and the intra and interobserver reliability for the renal measurements was analysed. Standard charts were developed for fetal renal parenchymal thickness, length, and volume. We present novel charts, which demonstrate the growth of the fetal renal parenchyma during pregnancy. They will be useful in clinical practice to identify any alterations from these normal ranges, which may be an important criterion for assisting prenatal diagnosis of renal pathologies and future studies in the prediction of kidney function.

Induction of fetal abnormalities and genotoxicity by molybdenum nanoparticles in pregnant female mice and fetuses.

Increasing the uses of molybdenum (Mo) nanoparticles in a wide range of applications including food, industry, and medicine, resulted in increased human exposure and necessitated the study of their toxic effects. However, almost no studies are available on their genotoxic effects, especially on pregnant females and their fetuses. Therefore, this study was undertaken to estimate the possible induction of genotoxicity and fetal abnormalities, especially fetal malformations and skeletal abnormalities by Mo nanoparticle administration in mice. Oral administration of Mo nanoparticles resulted in significant decreases in the maternal body weight, the number and length of fetuses as well as skeletal abnormalities mainly less ossification and less chondrification. Administration of Mo nanoparticles also caused DNA damage induction which elevated the expression levels of p53, the vital gene in maintaining the genomic stability and cell differentiation in both maternal and fetus tissues. Similarly, the expression levels of E-Cad and N-Cad genes that control skeleton development have also been increased in the tissues of female mice administered Mo nanoparticles and their fetuses. Thus, we concluded that oral administration of Mo nanoparticles induced genotoxic effects and fetal abnormalities that necessitated further studies on the possible toxic effects of Mo nanoparticles.

The Role of Fetal Kidney Length and Fetal Transverse Diameter of Heart in Prediction of Gestational Age

Objective: Currently there is no single ultrasonological parameter for accurate estimation of gestational age in third trimester. The present study is undertaken to validate the fetal kidney length and fetal transverse diameter of heart measurement as a measurement of fetal growth with less variability. Materials & Methods: It is a cohort study conducted in Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, NEIGRIHMS from 2015 to 2016. 224 women with singleton pregnancies and sure of LMP were enrolled. Each woman underwent minimum three ultrasonographic measurements- at first trimester for gestational age by CRL, at second trimester with fetal conventional biometry, at third trimester with Fetal kidney length, transverse diameter of heart and fetal conventional biometric parameters and analysed with SPSS Version22. Results: The gestational age with CRL was within three days of the menstrual age. In second trimester, conventional parameter (BPD,HC,AC,FL) were better parameters. Conventional parameter did not correspond to gestational age calculated from LMP. (BPD, R2= 0.4819, HC R2- 0.507, AC R2- 0.5175, FL R2-0.5243, Combined Conventional parameter R2- 0.5888). Fetal kidney length (R2-0.8356) and transverse diameter of heart (R2-0.8795) better correlated with gestational age. Conclusion: Kidney length and transverse diameter of heart are better predictors of gestational age in third trimester.

Two-generation reproduction and limited teratology studies of ethanamizuril fed to rats.

Ethanamizuril, a new anticoccidial agent that belongs to triazine derivatives, has a broad and good anticoccidial activity. To evaluate the reproductive toxicity and teratogenic potential of ethanamizuril, different concentrations of ethanamizuril were administered to Sprague-Dawley rats by feeding diets containing 0, 2, 8, and 30 ppm, respectively. Each group consisting of 30 males and 30 females (F0) was treated with different concentrations of ethanamizuril through a 13-week period before mating and during mating, gestation, parturition and lactation. In the 30 ppm dose group, pup body weight on days 7 and 21 in F1 offspring and day 21 in the F2a offspring were significantly decreased. A limited teratogenicity study was performed in combination with the F1 generation of a two-generation reproduction study. F1 offspring of the reproduction study were mated after weaning of the F2a offspring. Pregnant female rats were subjected to cesarean section on gestational day 20 for teratogenic examination. No obvious body weights, fetal body lengths, tail lengths, litter weights, number of viable fetuses, external, skeletal, or visceral malformations in fetuses were noted in any groups in the teratogenic test, but ethanamizuril could be passed on to offspring through lactation.

Discovering Salient Anatomical Landmarks by Predicting Human Gaze.

Anatomical landmarks are a crucial prerequisite for many medical imaging tasks. Usually, the set of landmarks for a given task is predefined by experts. The landmark locations for a given image are then annotated manually or via machine learning methods trained on manual annotations. In this paper, in contrast, we present a method to automatically discover and localize anatomical landmarks in medical images. Specifically, we consider landmarks that attract the visual attention of humans, which we term visually salient landmarks. We illustrate the method for fetal neurosonographic images. First, full-length clinical fetal ultrasound scans are recorded with live sonographer gaze-tracking. Next, a convolutional neural network (CNN) is trained to predict the gaze point distribution (saliency map) of the sonographers on scan video frames. The CNN is then used to predict saliency maps of unseen fetal neurosonographic images, and the landmarks are extracted as the local maxima of these saliency maps. Finally, the landmarks are matched across images by clustering the landmark CNN features. We show that the discovered landmarks can be used within affine image registration, with average landmark alignment errors between 4.1% and 10.9% of the fetal head long axis length.

Normality of The Mice's Fetal Spine during Fennel Flower Extract (Nigella sativa) Feeding

Black cumin (Nigella sativa ) is an annual flowering herbal plant that is widely planted in India, Egypt, and the Middle East. Black cumin essential oil contains p-cymene, α-pinene, dithymoquine, thymohydroquinone, and thymoquinone (more than 50%). This study aims to determine the effect of black cumin extract on the structure of the spine, length, and fetal weight of the mouse. The study was conducted in December 2019 to February 2020 at the Zoology and Botany Laboratory of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Lampung. This study uses a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) consisting of 4 groups, each group with 5 repetitions (K1, P1, P2, P3). Black cumin extract is given orally as much as 0.3 ml/day on the 6th to 17th day of pregnancy. The control group K1 (Aquabides), P1 was given black cumin extract (2.1 mg/30 g), P2 (8.4 mg/30 g), and P3 (33.6 mg/30 g). Data on the structure of the spine were observed descriptively while the length and weight of the fetus of mice were analyzed using ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) with a significance level of α = 5%. The results obtained on the structure of the spine from each treatment did not cause abnormalities in the structure of the mice's fetal spine. Black cumin contains calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, and iron which are useful in the process of bone growth and development. Besides, the results of fetal length and weight data based on the ANOVA test one factor level α = 5% statistically did not show a decrease in the length and weight of the fetus of mice.

Correlation models for monitoring fetal growth.

Ultrasound growth measurements are monitored to evaluate if a fetus is growing normally compared with a defined standard chart at a specified gestational age. Using data from the Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study of the INTERGROWTH-21st project, we have modelled the longitudinal dependence of fetal head circumference, biparietal diameter, occipito-frontal diameter, abdominal circumference, and femur length using a two-stage approach. The first stage involved finding a suitable transformation of the raw fetal measurements (as the marginal distributions of ultrasound measurements were non-normal) to standardized deviations (Z-scores). In the second stage, a correlation model for a Gaussian process is fitted, yielding a correlation for any pair of observations made between 14 and 40 weeks. The correlation structure of the fetal Z-score can be used to assess whether the growth, for example, between successive measurements is satisfactory. The paper is accompanied by a Shiny application, see https://lxiao5.shinyapps.io/shinycalculator/.

Association of foot length and gestational maturity in neonates: a single centre study

Background: As the prematurity is one of the important causes of neonatal mortality/ morbidity in a developing country like India. It is important to differentiate between preterm and term babies and timely refer them to higher centre. But it's difficult to assess the Gestation age (GA) in rural areas by existing methods like New Ballard score, and Antenatal ultrasound (due to lack of equipment and experienced person). So that shows the importance of the alternative, reliable, and easy to use method for identification of term, preterm and post-term babies. The present study carried out to find out the importance of Foot length in the assessment of GA.Methods: It is a hospital-based prospective observational study, 253 newborns were included in the study. The GA assessment was done by using New Ballard score. Foot length measured by using Digital sliding calliper and birth weight were recorded. Correlation of Fetal foot length with GA and birth weight was made by using appropriate statistical tests.Results: Among 253 neonates distribution of term, preterm, male and female were 65%, 35 %, 55%, 45% respectively. In this study positive Correlation between foot length and gestational age was found with the “r” value of 0.77. The study also showed a correlation between foot length and weight with the “r” value of 0.74.Conclusions: To conclude most of the newborn in our study have a good correlation of Foot length with gestational maturity and Birthweight. Derived equation from this study can be used as an alternative to New Ballard score in the estimation of gestational age in poor sources situations like in rural areas and also in emergencies by ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activist) & Anganwadi workers.

Inhibitory effects of tuber extract of nut grass (Cyperus rotundus L) on the growth of rat fetuses

In this paper we studied the effect of tuber extract of nutgrass (Cyperus rotundus l.) on fetal weight and length of white rat (Rattus novergicus) Sprague Dawley. Pregnant female rats (n=24) are grouped into four consisted of six rats each. Group-1 (control) only received distilled water. Group-2, 3 and 4 consecutively received tuber extract of nut grass at the dose of 22.5, 45, and 90 mg/kg body weight. Extract was given orally using gavage needle on day 6th for 13 days until day 18th of pregnancy. On day 18th of pregnancy, female rats were lapartomized under deep anaesthesia. All fetuses were taken to measure their body weight and length. The results showed that both fetal weight and fetal length of the rats were significantly decreased with increasing doses of the extract. In conclusion, tuber extract of nut grass (Cyperus rotundus l.) exhibited inhibitory effects against fetal growth of rats during pregnancy.

Factors associated with long-term cardiac dysfunction in neonatal lupus

ObjectivesCardiac manifestations of neonatal lupus (NL) have been associated with significant morbidity and mortality; however, there is minimal information on long-term outcomes of affected individuals. This study was initiated to...

Effects of PM2.5 exposure during gestation on maternal gut microbiota and pregnancy outcomes

A number of studies have reported that fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Moreover, PM2.5 exposure contributes to changes of gut microbiota. However, influences of PM2.5 exposure during gestation on maternal gut microbiota and pregnancy outcomes were not well understood. Here we performed a study using mice models. Dams were exposed to PM2.5 suspension by intratracheal instillation on gestational day (GD) 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15. Pregnancy outcomes, maternal gut microbiota and short chain fatty acids on GD 18 were all measured. The fetal body weight of PM2.5 group was significantly lower than that of control group (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the fetal body length of PM2.5 group was significantly shorter than that of control group (p < 0.05). The Shannon or Simpson index of PM2.5 group were higher than that of control group (p < 0.05). At the phyla level, compared to dams in control group, mice in the PM2.5 group had higher ratio of phyla Proteobacteria, Candidatus Saccharibacteria and Fusobacteria and lower ratio of phyla Acidobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes and Deferribacteres in the gut. Compared with control group, the concentration of isobutyric acid was higher in PM2.5 group, but butyric acid concentration was lower in PM2.5 group (p < 0.05). These findings suggested that prenatal exposure to PM2.5 had an effect on birth weight of fetus. Meanwhile, PM2.5 tracheal exposure during gestation caused changes in the distribution and structure of gut microbiota of dams.

Impact of biometric measurement error on identification of small- and large-for-gestational-age fetuses.

ABSTRACTObjectivesFirst, to obtain measurement‐error models for biometric measurements of fetal abdominal circumference (AC), head circumference (HC) and femur length (FL), and, second, to examine the impact of biometric measurement error on sonographic estimated fetal weight (EFW) and its effect on the prediction of small‐ (SGA) and large‐ (LGA) for‐gestational‐age fetuses with EFW < 10th and > 90th percentile, respectively.MethodsMeasurement error standard deviations for fetal AC, HC and FL were obtained from a previous large study on fetal biometry utilizing a standardized measurement protocol and both qualitative and quantitative quality‐control monitoring. Typical combinations of AC, HC and FL that gave EFW on the 10th and 90th percentiles were determined. A Monte‐Carlo simulation study was carried out to examine the effect of measurement error on the classification of fetuses as having EFW above or below the 10th and 90th percentiles.ResultsErrors were assumed to follow a Gaussian distribution with a mean of 0 mm and SDs, obtained from a previous well‐conducted study, of 6.93 mm for AC, 5.15 mm for HC and 1.38 mm for FL. Assuming errors according to such distributions, when the 10th and 90th percentiles are used to screen for SGA and LGA fetuses, respectively, the detection rates would be 78.0% at false‐positive rates of 4.7%. If the cut‐offs were relaxed to the 30th and 70th percentiles, the detection rates would increase to 98.2%, but at false‐positive rates of 24.2%. Assuming half of the spread in the error distribution, using the 10th and 90th percentiles to screen for SGA and LGA fetuses, respectively, the detection rates would be 86.6% at false‐positive rates of 2.3%. If the cut‐offs were relaxed to the 15th and 85th percentiles, respectively, the detection rates would increase to 97.0% and the false‐positive rates would increase to 6.3%.ConclusionsMeasurement error in fetal biometry causes substantial error in EFW, resulting in misclassification of SGA and LGA fetuses. The extent to which improvement can be achieved through effective quality assurance remains to be seen but, as a first step, it is important for practitioners to understand how biometric measurement error impacts the prediction of SGA and LGA fetuses. © 2019 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

FTY720, a sphingosine analog, altered placentome histoarchitecture in ewes

BackgroundThe lysosphingolipid, sphingosine-1-phosphate, is a well-described and potent pro-angiogenic factor. Receptors, as well as the sphingosine phosphorylating enzyme sphingosine kinase 1, are expressed in the placentomes of sheep and the decidua of rodents; however, a function for this signaling pathway during pregnancy has not been established. The objective of this study was to investigate whether sphingosine-1-phosphate promoted angiogenesis within the placentomes of pregnant ewes. Ewes were given daily jugular injections of FTY720 (2-amino-2[2-(− 4-octylphenyl)ethyl]propate-1,3-diol hydrochloride), an S1P analog.ResultsFTY720 infusion from days 30 to 60 of pregnancy did not alter maternal organ weights nor total number or mass of placentomes, but did alter placentome histoarchitecture. Interdigitation of caruncular crypts and cotyledonary villi was decreased, as was the relative area of cotyledonary tissue within placentomes. Also, the percentage of area occupied by cotyledonary villi per unit of placentome was increased, while the thickness of the caruncular capsule was decreased in ewes treated with FTY720. Further, FTY720 infusion decreased the number and density of blood vessels within caruncular tissue near the placentome capsule where the crypts emerge from the capsule. Finally, FTY720 infusion decreased asparagine and glutamine in amniotic fluid and methionine in allantoic fluid, and decreased the crown rump length of day 60 fetuses.ConclusionsWhile members of the sphingosine-1-phosphate signaling pathway have been characterized within the uteri and placentae of sheep and mice, the present study uses FTY720 to address the influence of S1P signaling on placental development. We present evidence that modulation of the S1P signaling pathway results in the alteration of caruncular vasculature, placentome architecture, abundance of amino acids in allantoic and amniotic fluids, and fetal growth during pregnancy in sheep. The marked morphological changes in placentome histoarchitecture, including alteration in the vasculature, may be relevant to fetal growth and survival. It is somewhat surprising that fetal length was reduced as early as day 60, because fetal growth in sheep is greatest after day 60. The subtle changes observed in the fetuses of ewes exposed to FTY720 may indicate an adaptive response of the fetuses to cope with altered placental morphology.

The role of ductus venosus doppler, fetal liver length and placental thickness in gestational diabetes

To detect the possible adaptive changes that may have an impact on placenta and fetus in the presence of gestational diabetes mellitus using ultrasonography. We compared ductus venosus peak systolic flow velocity, fetal liver length and placental thickness between 25 healthy pregnants and 25 pregnants with gestational diabetes mellitus; diagnosed by 75 gram oral glucose tolerance test during their 24–28 weeks of pregnancy. Measurements were conducted with a 2 D transabdominal convex probe. In addition, gravida, parity, type of birth, gestational diabetes mellitus story, diabetes mellitus story in family, body mass index and demographic characteristics were also compared. In the demographic characteristics, family history of diabetes mellitus and personal history of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus were significantly higher in the group with gestational diabetes than the control group. No statistically significant difference was found between other demographic features The mean ductus venosus peak systolic flow was measured 35 cm/s in group with gestational diabetes mellitus while it was 45 cm/s in the control group, hence significantly lower in the group with gestational diabetes mellitus. The mean fetal liver length was measured 48 mm in group with gestational diabetes mellitus while it was 44 mm in the control group, thus higher in the group with gestational diabetes. The mean placental thickness was measured 40 mm in group with gestational diabetes while it was 37 mm in control group. There was no statistically significant difference in placental thickness between pregnants with gestational diabetes and healthy controls. Ductus venosus peak systolic flow and fetal liver length measurements are different in patients with gestational diabetes than healty controls.

Metformin treatment of high-fat diet-fed obese male mice restores sperm function and fetal growth, without requiring weight loss.

Male obesity is associated with subfertility and increased disease risk of offspring. It is unknown if effects can be reversed through pharmacological interventions. Five- to 6-week-old C57BL6 male mice were fed control diet (n = 10, CD) or high-fat diet (n = 20, HFD) for 16 weeks. Animals fed with a HFD were then allocated to continuation of HFD (n = 8) or HFD with metformin 28 mg kg−1 day−1 (n = 8) for 6 weeks. Animals fed with CD continued on a CD (n = 9). Males were mated with fertile C57BL6 females for the assessment of pregnancy and fetal growth. Sperm motility, spermatozoa and testicular morphology, sperm-zona pellucida binding, sperm reactive oxygen species (ROS) (intracellular [DCFDA], superoxide [MSR], and oxidative DNA lesions [8OHdG]), and mitochondrial membrane potential (JC1) were assessed. Metformin treatment of HFD males improved glucose tolerance (+12%, P < 0.05) and reduced Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR; −36%, P < 0.05). This occurred in the absence of a change in body weight or adiposity. Metformin treatment of HFD-fed males restored testicular morphology (+33%, P < 0.05), sperm motility (+66%, P < 0.05), sperm–zona pellucida binding (+25%, P < 0.05), sperm intracellular ROS concentrations (−32%, P < 0.05), and oxidative DNA lesions (−45%, P < 0.05) to the levels of the CD males. Metformin treatment of HFD fathers increased fetal weights and lengths compared with those born to HFD fathers (+8%, P < 0.05), with fetal lengths restored to those of fetuses of CD males. Short-term metformin treatment in men who are obese could be a potential intervention for the treatment of subfertility, without the need for a reduction in body weight/adiposity.

Teratogenic effects (resorptions and reduction in weight and crown rump length) of valproate on fetal mice

Background and Aims: Teratology is the study of abnormal development in fetus. Teratology first came into existence in 1930 when a number of experiments were conducted. There are various causes of congenital anomalies such as genetic factors, environmental factors such as radiation, changes in temperature, hypoxia, chemical substances, drugs, and maternal infections. At present, valproic acid is the most widely used antiepileptic drug. Valproic acid is salt of dipropyl acetic acid. Most of the studies on the valproate were done at higher doses starting from 400 mg/kg. Hence, the present study was done to assess teratogenic effects at lower dose of valproate i.e., 200 mg/kg. Only few studies are conducted on fetal mice at Valproate dose of 200 mg/kg. The aim of the present study is to report the teratogenic effects of valproate at dose of 200 mg/kg on single gestational day (8th) and multiple gestational days (7th, 8th, and 9th) in fetal mice. Materials and Methods: Forty pregnant mice were taken in the present study, and these are distributed in three groups. Group A which was control group received normal saline. In Group B, Valproate was administered on single gestational day (8th). In Group C, Valproate was administered on multiple gestational days (7th, 8th, and 9th). Dose of valproate given in each group was 200 mg/kg intraperitoneally. On the 18th gestational day, fetuses were collected after uterotomy. The fetuses of all three groups were weighed by digital laboratory weighing scale. Crown rump length (CRL) of fetuses of all groups was documented by means of graph paper. Mean, standard deviation, and P value were calculated. Statistical analysis was done by the ANOVA one-way test. Results: Valproate administered groups showed resorptions. CRL and fetal weight reduction were found in treated groups. These findings were more found in Group C in comparison to Group B. Conclusion: Valproate is teratogenic drug at 200 mg/kg dose, so valproate should be prescribed at lowest efficacious dosage to minimize the teratogenic risk.

Relationship of placental diameter and thickness versus fetal growth biometrics: A cross-sectional sonographic evaluation of antenatal women in Enugu, Southeast Nigeria

Background: The placenta is a feto-maternal organ that plays a vital role in normal fetal growth and perinatal outcome. Sonographic studies have shown that placental diameter (PD) and thickness (PT) increase linearly with gestational age, and may have relationships with fetal parameters and estimated weight. Aim: To determine the relationship between PT and PD with fetal biometric parameters and estimated weight, as well as establish a model for estimating birth weight from these placental parameters. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 400 antenatal women with normal, third-trimester, singleton pregnancies at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu. Ultrasound was used to evaluate their PD and PT. Fetal weight was estimated (EFW) using fetal biparietal diameter, abdominal circumference and femur length. Data were analyzed with SPSS, version 20. Results: The mean PD of participants before 37 weeks of gestation (183.8 ± 8.7 mm) was significantly shorter than that of participants at term (205.7 ± 2.5 mm), P < 0.001. For PT, the mean values for participants before term and at term were 36.3 ± 2.4 mm versus 43.2 ± 1.0 mm, respectively, P < 0.001. There were varying positive correlations between each placental parameter and the three fetal biometric parameters. Both PD and PT had a high positive correlation with EFW (P < 0.001). Regression analysis predicted fetal weight using PD and PT. Conclusion: PD and PT showed a high positive correlation with fetal weight and can be used as a sonographic parameter in estimating fetal weight.

Convolutional Neural Network to Detect and Measure Fetal Skull Circumference in Ultrasound Imaging

In obstetrics, ultrasound is used for assessment of fetal development during pregnancy. The images generated by ultrasound are used to obtain measurements of fetal head length, body size, and the analysis of fetal movements, to identify and prevent the onset of congenital disease. This work presents the development of a new method for the segmentation of two-dimensional ultrasound images of fetal skulls based on a V-Net architecture called Fully Convolutional Neural Network - Combination (VNet-c). We created a new combination of strategies using a 3D V-Net as base, such as pre-processing, use of Batch Normalization and Dropout, and evaluation of distinct activation layers, activation function, data augmentation, loss function, and network depth. The computational results reveal the feasibility of the proposal in the correct segmentation of fetal skulls and head circumference measurements, reaching up to 97.91% of correctness, overcoming states-of-the-art methods.