A preliminary study on the prenatal diagnosis of fetal conotruncal defects using intelligent navigation echocardiography

Abstract

Objective To compare the accuracy, efficiency, and consistency between experienced and less‐experienced professionals using intelligent navigation echocardiography. Methods In this prospective study, we enrolled 93 second‐ and third‐trimester fetuses with conotruncal defects (CTD) from July 2017 to February 2018. One or more spatiotemporal image correlation volume data sets were collected per case. The fetuses with CTD were diagnosed by the following two groups of professionals (n = 20 in each) with different experience levels using intelligent navigation echocardiography and two‐dimensional ultrasound: group A with 15 years of experience and group B with 1 year of experience. The diagnostic consistency and accuracy of the technologies between the two groups were analyzed. Results Satisfactory consistency was noted in the two groups (group A, τ = 0.855, P < 0.05, and group B, τ = 0.821, P < 0.05), and no significant difference in accuracy (χ2 = 3.218, P > 0.05) in using intelligent navigation echocardiography was reported between the two groups. However, there a significant difference in accuracy (χ2 = 0.021, P < 0.05) when using two‐dimensional ultrasound was observed between the two groups. Conclusion Intelligent navigation echocardiography was found to be efficient and accurate for the diagnosis of CTD and good consistency existed in the experienced and less‐experienced professionals.

Prenatal diagnosis of fetal conotruncal defects by using 2D ultrasound and HD live flow combined with spatiotemporal image correlation

“…CTDs, including persistent truncus arteriosus (PTA), tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), double outlet of the right ventricle (DORV), transposition of great arteries (TGA), pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect (PA-VSD), and pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PA-IVS), account for approximately 16% of CHD cases. 1 The detection rate of CTDs in the general population is different. Prenatal diagnosis is crucial to improve the prognosis of patients, and their prognosis differs when they are combined with different degrees of malformation.…”

“…Conotruncal defects (CTDs) are a group of congenital heart diseases (CHDs) resulting from the abnormal division or rotation of the primordial arterial trunk during embryonic development. CTDs, including persistent truncus arteriosus (PTA), tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), double outlet of the right ventricle (DORV), transposition of great arteries (TGA), pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect (PA‐VSD), and pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PA‐IVS), account for approximately 16% of CHD cases 1 . The detection rate of CTDs in the general population is different.…”