What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Cross-Sectional. Population: Fetal cardiac screening (n=112). Intervention: SlowflowHD vs. Radiantflow. Primary outcome: Detection rate of pulmonary veins (PV) (p=<0.00001).

What does this research mean for the field?

SlowflowHD significantly improves the detection rate of fetal pulmonary veins compared to Radiantflow (79.5% vs 6.3%) at 11 to 13+6 weeks of gestation. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To compare the detection rates of five standard fetal cardiac views between Radiantflow and SlowflowHD ultrasound modalities at 11–13+6 weeks of gestation.

October 1, 2026Donald School Journal of Ultrasound in Obstetrics & GynecologyOpen Access

SlowflowHD to Evaluate Fetal Heart at 11–13+6 Weeks of Gestation

Q: What are the key findings of this study?

SlowflowHD significantly improved the detection rate of fetal pulmonary veins compared to Radiantflow (79.5% vs 6.3%) at 11-13+6 weeks of gestation.

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

SlowflowHD significantly improves the detection rate of fetal pulmonary veins compared to Radiantflow (79.5% vs 6.3%) at 11 to 13+6 weeks of gestation. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

Q: What question did this study set out to answer?

To compare the detection rates of five standard fetal cardiac views between Radiantflow and SlowflowHD ultrasound modalities at 11–13+6 weeks of gestation.

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Key result

SlowflowHD improves early fetal pulmonary vein detection to ~80% vs. Radiantflow.

P<0.00001
n=112

Why the study?

Detection rates of fetal cardiac structures such as pulmonary veins at 11-13+6 weeks gestation remain suboptimal with conventional Doppler techniques, necessitating evaluation of newer high-resolution ultrasound technologies.

Does SlowflowHD improve the detection rate of fetal cardiac views compared to Radiantflow in normal fetuses at 11-13+6 weeks of gestation?

Population

Fetuses at 11-13+6 weeks of gestation

Comparison

SlowflowHD versus conventional power Doppler and color Doppler

Design

Cross-sectional study

Authors

THToshiyuki HataKagawa University AKAya KoyanagiOkayama Psychiatric Medical Center RTRiko TakayoshiKagawa University

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

May support earlier fetal cardiac assessment; Level 5 evidence leaves open routine adoption pending validation.

Key Points

To compare the detection rates of five standard fetal cardiac views between Radiantflow and SlowflowHD ultrasound modalities at 11–13+6 weeks of gestation.
Screenings were conducted over 16 months in 118 pregnant women at 11–13+6 weeks of gestation, yielding 112 normal fetuses after 6 were excluded.
Transabdominal Radiantflow and SlowflowHD were used to assess the four-chamber view (4CV), pulmonary veins (PV), three-vessel view (3VV), right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT), and left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT).
Intraobserver and interobserver visualization agreement and reproducibility were quantified using Cohen's kappa coefficients across gestational ages.
Detection rates using SlowflowHD were significantly higher than Radiantflow for 4CV (97.3% vs 84.8%), PV (79.5% vs 6.3%), RVOT (98.2% vs 85.7%), and LVOT (98.2% vs 63.4%) (p < 0.01).
Detection of 3VV did not differ significantly between SlowflowHD and Radiantflow (99.1% vs 94.6%).
SlowflowHD demonstrated intraobserver Cohen's kappa coefficients of 0.911–1 and interobserver coefficients of 0.526–1 across cardiac views.

Study Design

Type

Cross-Sectional (n=112)

Multicenter

Structured PICO

Does SlowflowHD improve the detection rate of fetal cardiac views compared to Radiantflow in normal fetuses at 11-13+6 weeks of gestation?

Population

112 pregnant women at 11-13+6 weeks of gestation undergoing first-trimester fetal cardiac screening.

Intervention

Transabdominal SlowflowHD ultrasound

Comparator

Transabdominal Radiantflow ultrasound

Outcome

Rates of detecting five fetal cardiac views: four-chamber view (4CV), pulmonary veins (PV), three-vessel view (3VV), right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT), and left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT)surrogate

Main Result

Absolute Event Rate: 79.5% vs 6.3%

p-value: p=<0.00001

SlowflowHD provides significantly higher detection rates for key fetal cardiac structures, particularly pulmonary veins, compared to Radiantflow during first-trimester screening.

Limitations

Small sample size
Single-center study
Most scans performed by a single examiner

Cite This Study

Hata et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Fetal cardiac screening (n=112). SlowflowHD vs. Radiantflow was evaluated on Detection rate of pulmonary veins (PV) (p=<0.00001). SlowflowHD significantly improved the detection rate of fetal pulmonary veins compared to Radiantflow (79.5% vs 6.3%) at 11-13+6 weeks of gestation.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6abda8f14d657f10339f94d0 https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10009-2120

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SlowflowHD to Evaluate Fetal Heart at 11–13+6 Weeks of Gestation

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Main Result

Limitations

Cite This Study

SlowflowHD to Evaluate Fetal Heart at 11–13+6 Weeks of Gestation

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Study Design

Structured PICO

Main Result

Limitations

Cite This Study

Also Consider

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