Evaluation of placental perfusion for gestational diabetes mellitus and fetal growth restriction using arterial spin labeling

Motivation: Whether arterial spin labeling (ASL) can be used to assess placental dysfunction in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) or fetal growth restriction (FGR) remains to be explored. Goal(s): To explore the changes in placental blood flow in pregnant women with GDM or FGR compared with normal pregnancies. Approach: Placental blood flow (PBF) values of 13 normal pregnancy women, 4 women with FGR, and 2 with GDM were obtained using pseudocontinuous ASL (pCASL) and compared using unpaired t-test. Results: Both FGR and GDM pregnancies showed lower PBF compared to normal pregnant subjects. Impact: PCASL is a useful non-invasive tool for measuring placental blood flow in pregnant women, which may aid in diagnosing pathological developments or abnormalities in the placenta of pregnancies.