In-silico modelling of placental T2* MRI: impact of oxygenation and villous architecture

Motivation: Significant T2* changes appear in dysfunctional placentas, but the drivers remain unclear, underscoring the need for non-invasive tools to distinguish structural and functional factors. Goal(s): To develop a realistic in-silico simulation pipeline that assesses the impact of villous structure and oxygenation changes on placental T2*. Approach: We use in-silico placental models with realistic structures, varying oxygen saturation and tissue volumes, to calculate magnetic field shifts and generate voxel-specific T2* maps. Results: Simulated placental T2*, consistent with in vivo data, show that hypoxia lowers T2*, especially at lower tissue volumes. Similar mean T2* for healthy and FGR vasculatures but FGR shows greater voxel-wise variability. Impact: The simulation of placental T2* in realistic fetoplacental vasculatures disentangles oxygen/vascular abnormalities and their effects on placental function. By integrating structural and oxygen dynamics, we aim to improve early detection and understanding of placental dysfunction, thereby facilitating treatment.