Fetal cardiac MRI methods used in the prenatal diagnosis of coarctation of the aorta.

Motivation: A clinical need to better diagnose aortic coarctation (CoA) in third trimester using fetal CMR. Goal(s): To describe technical parameters and results of fetal CMR for the prenatal evaluation of suspected CoA. Approach: Cardiac gating was obtained using a DUS gating device. 4D flow MRI was acquired to quantify fetal cardiovascular flow volumes and distribution. Cine balanced SSFP sequences were acquired of the fetal heart and great vessels. Multiplane T2w-BB sequences were acquired, and a 3D dataset was created to demonstrate extracardiac vasculature. Results: Using fetal CMR we were able to predict postnatal diagnosis of CoA with a high degree of accuracy. Impact: Fetal CMRI improved the prenatal diagnosis of CoA which can improve pre-, peri-, and post-natal care.