Research progresses in functional MRI of the placenta

Insufficiencies in placenta functions may result in a variety of severe prenatal and postnatal syndromes, which is responsible for most pregnancy failures, and has long-term negative impacts on female adult health. Recent advances in f MRI studies of the placental in both animal models and humans, have significantly enriched our understanding concerning placental structure, blood flow, oxygenation status, metabolic profile, and pregnancy complications. The MRI methods including dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI), arterial spin labeling (ASL), blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) and oxygen enhanced (OE), diffusion weighted MRI (DWI), intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), can be used to evaluate placental oxygenation, the tissue micro-structure, and properties of metabolism. In this review, we introduced the basis of these methods, summarized their progresses in both animal models and human studies, and discussed their limitations, challenges, and potential application in future. (authors)