Brain abnormalities in fetuses: in-utero MRI versus ultrasound

Prenatal imaging for diagnosis and prediction of neurodevelopmental outcomes in fetuses with brain malformations is a substantial challenge. Accurate diagnosis of brain abnormalities has important therapeutic implications. Consequently, it is essential that tools used for prenatal diagnosis are rigorously evaluated. The standard of care is prenatal ultrasound, but in-utero MRI (iuMRI) has been a developing adjunct to prenatal ultrasound for the past 20 years.1 This process is increasingly used to image the fetal brain after anomalies are recorded during screening or diagnostic prenatal ultrasounds.