3D scanner measuring preterm infants’ head circumference and cranial volume: validation in a simulated care setting

Introduction Weekly head circumference (HC) measurements using a measuring tape is the current standard for longitudinal brain growth monitoring of preterm infants. The MONITOR3D (M3D) 3D scanner has been developed to measure both HC and cranial volume (CrV) of preterm infants within incubators. The M3D’s usability, accuracy and precision were validated in a simulated setting in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Materials and methods During a simulated routine care moment, NICU nurses conducted M3D scans of a preterm doll simulating an extreme low birthweight preterm (ELBW; BW < 1,000 g) infant, followed by manual HC measurements using a measuring tape. Usability was quantified by percentage of successful HC and CrV measurements from scans. HC and CrV were calculated by marking anatomical landmarks on the 3D image. Measurements were compared to the real, ground truth (GT) values of the doll’s head, defined by an accurate medical scanner. Measurement accuracy was assessed using mean or median absolute measurement error (ME), and precision by the spread of ME, represented by the 95% interval of the ME range. ME intervals were compared with preterm weekly growth increases to assess clinical usability. Results Regarding usability, 56 M3D scan sessions resulted in 25 successful (44.6%) HC and CrV measurements, with incomplete 3D data being the primary cause of unsuccessful scans. Accuracy of the measuring tape for HC was 0.2 cm (proportional 0.9% of GT), and precision was 1.6 cm (6.3%). M3D’s accuracy of HC was 0.4 cm (1.5%), and precision was 0.7 cm (2.9%). For CrV, M3D’s accuracy was 8.0 mL (3.8%) and precision 22.6 mL (10.8%). Conclusion The M3D scanner is suitable for measuring HC and CrV in ELBW infants. However, current scan success rate is too low for practical usability. The M3D’s accuracy and precision are clinically sufficient, while the precision of the current measuring tape method is inadequate for preterm infants. This makes the M3D a promising alternative for HC, offering less disturbance to the infant. In the future, the M3D technique could facilitate the creation of CrV growth reference charts for ELBW infants, enhancing the accuracy of clinical growth monitoring for preterm infants.