Summary
The current method provides a noninvasive means of assessing placental function and oxygenation from MRI images without the administration of an exogenous contrast agent, to provide a safer means to asses placental health during pregnancy.
Technology Overview
Despite recent focus on placental health and function as a primary driver of fetal growth and development, current in vivo identification and assessment of abnormal placentation is limited. This MRI protocol and modeling methodology, which uses an endogenous contrast agent and therefore is non-invasive, facilitates assessment of oxygenation and blood flow in the placenta. This technique could be used in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia (3-5% of pregnancies in the US and 5-10% of pregnancies worldwide), preterm labor (10% of pregnancies in the US), intrauterine growth restriction (3-10% of pregnancies in the US), diabetes mellitus (0.2-0.5% of pregnancies in the US), chronic hypertension (1-5% of pregnancies in the US) and other high-risk conditions associated with abnormal placentation.
Publication
Schabel MC, et al., “Functional imaging of the nonhuman primate Placenta with endogenous blood oxygen level-dependent contrast.” Magn Reson Med. 2016 Nov;76(5):1551-1562. Link
Licensing Opportunity
This technology is available for licensing.