Visualizing cerebral veins in fetal brain using susceptibility-weighted MRI

•Veins were visualized in 29 fetal brains using susceptibility-weighted imaging.•A total of 167 veins were detected with a range of 2–19 for each subject.•There was a strong linear correlation between number of veins and gestational age.•We infer an additional vein will be visible by SWI every 2 weeks from week 24.•SWI is likely to be of great clinical value for fetal stroke imaging.

AimTo explore the feasibility of two-dimensional (2D) susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) in the visualization of cerebral veins in the foetal brain.Materials and methodsForty-two pregnant healthy women (gestational age: 19–37 weeks, mean: 28.5 ± 7.1 weeks) underwent SWI examination using a 1.5 T MRI system. Two neurologists independently analysed all magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. The relationship between the veins detected and the gestational age was investigated. The prominence of veins was assessed using a categorical score.ResultsIn total, 167 veins were detected by SWI in 29 subjects with a symmetric hemisphere distribution (p > 0.05). An additional vein was detected by SWI biweekly from 24 weeks of gestation. Most veins of Galen and internal cerebral veins on SWI images were prominent, whereas others were faint or moderate.ConclusionSWI appears to be a feasible method of detecting cerebral veins in the foetal brain.