The Vitruvian Baby: Interactive Reformation of Fetal Ultrasound Data to a T-Position

Abstract

Three dimensional (3D) ultrasound is commonly used in prenatal screening, because it provides insight into the shape as well as the organs of the fetus. Currently, gynecologists take standardized measurements of the fetus and check for abnormalities by analyzing the data in a 2D slice view. The fetal pose may complicate taking precise measurements in such a view. Analyzing the data in a 3D view would enable the viewer to better distinguish between artefacts and representative information. Standardization in medical imaging techniques aims to make the data comparable between different investigations and patients. It is already used in different medical applications for example in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). With this work, we introduce a novel approach to provide a standardization method for 3D ultrasound screenings of fetuses. The approach consists of six steps and is called ''The Vitruvian Baby''. The input is the data of the 3D ultrasound screening of a fetus and the output shows the fetus in a standardized T-pose in which measurements can be made. The precision of standardized measurements compared to the gold standard is for the finger to finger span 91,08% and for the head to toe measurement 94,05%.