Gift-Surg – Fetal MRI
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Guided Instrumentation for Fetal Therapy and Surgery: Fetal MRI to improve prenatal diagnosis and therapy for fetal abnormality
IRAS ID
173602
Contact name
Anna David
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Duration of Study in the UK
7 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Guided Instrumentation for Fetal Therapy and Surgery is a seven-year project funded by the Wellcome Trust and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). In collaboration with KU Leuven, Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College Hospital (UCLH) we aim to develop low-risk techniques for diagnosis and treatment of a range of debilitating abnormalities of the baby during pregnancy and before birth. This will have significant impact as at present around 1% of babies are born with severe defects, and these are collectively responsible for over a third of all paediatric hospital admissions. Early prenatal intervention in some types of congenital disease can reduce disease morbidity. For example open fetal surgery to correct myelomeningocoele (spina bifida) during pregnancy reduces the postnatal requirement for ventricular shunts and improves motor function in affected neonates. The provision of more and better pre-operative data to surgeons allows them to optimally prepare for surgery, and is usually provided by fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Currently fetal MRI is limited by difficulties with image acquisition due to fetal movements, and a lack of knowledge about the best sequences to use. We wish to improve fetal MRI, currently used for prenatal diagnosis and monitoring of fetal outcome after prenatal treatment.
The research study will ask women who are undergoing fetal MRI for prenatal diagnosis, if they would agree to allow us to perform extra MRI imaging up to a certain time limit, for research purposes. We will also invite women who do not need fetal MRI for prenatal diagnosis whether they would agree to undergo imaging for research purposes. Using the extra MRI time we will be able to image parts of the fetus that are not being studied for clinical purposes, and develop different types of sequences to improve the fetal images that we can acquire.
REC name
London - Hampstead Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/1488
Date of REC Opinion
19 Oct 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion