The Use of a Software-Assisted Method to Estimate Fetal Weight at and Near Term Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Objective: The aim of this study was to apply a semi-automated calculation method of fetal body volume and, thus, of magnetic resonance-estimated fetal weight (MR-EFW) prior to planned delivery and to evaluate whether the technique of measurement could be simplified while remaining accurate.

Methods: MR-EFW was calculated using a semi-automated method at 38.6 weeks of gestation in 36 patients and compared to the picture archiving and communication system (PACS). Per patient, 8 sequences were acquired with a slice thickness of 4-8 mm and an intersection gap of 0, 4, 8, 12, 16, or 20 mm. The median absolute relative errors for MR-EFW and the time of planimetric measurements were calculated for all 8 sequences and for each method (assisted vs. PACS), and the difference between the methods was calculated.

Results: The median delivery weight was 3,280 g. The overall median relative error for all 288 MR-EFW calculations was 2.4% using the semi-automated method and 2.2% for the PACS method. Measurements did not differ between the 8 sequences using the assisted method (p = 0.313) or the PACS (p = 0.118), while the time of planimetric measurement decreased significantly with a larger gap (p < 0.001) and in the assisted method compared to the PACS method (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Our simplified MR-EFW measurement showed a dramatic decrease in time of planimetric measurement without a decrease in the accuracy of weight estimates.