Evaluation of fetal heart geometry during pregnancy by three‐dimensional ultrasound using the STIC rendering mode.

HEART anatomy; MITRAL valve; GESTATIONAL age; LONGITUDINAL method; PREGNANCY; ULTRASONIC imaging; THREE-dimensional imaging; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; ANATOMY

Objective: To determine fetal heart geometry during pregnancy using three‐dimensional (3D) ultrasound and the spatiotemporal image correlation (STIC) rendering mode. Methods: This prospective, cross‐sectional study evaluated 250 normal singleton pregnancies from 20 to 33 weeks and 6 days of gestation. STIC rendering was used to calculate the eight angles of the fetal heart: apex, base, mitral valve, tricuspid valve, left ventricle, right ventricle, left atrium, and right atrium angles. The concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) was used for intra‐ and inter‐observer tests. Results: The average ± SD maternal age was 31.7 ± 4.9 years, and the average gestational age was 26.3 ± 4.2 weeks. There was little variation in fetal heart angles using STIC rendering according to the gestational age, with determination coefficient (R2) values of 0.01 for the apex and mitral valve angles and <0.01 for the base, tricuspid valve, left ventricle, right ventricle, left atrium, and right atrium angles. Moderate/good intra‐ and inter‐observer concordance was observed for the measurement of fetal heart angles using STIC rendering, and the obtained CCC varied from 0.74 to 0.93. Conclusion: The fetal heart geometry did not present significant variations during pregnancy using 3D ultrasound and the STIC rendering mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]