Detail

Keywords

Brain Stem; Cerebellum; Fetal Development; Fetal Diseases; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Radiology

Research interests

• Fetal magnetic resonance imaging

• Posterior fossa malformations

• Congenital heart defects

Techniques, methods & infrastructure

Fetal magnetic resonance imaging is a routinely performed and powerful diagnostic modality that enables a high-quality assessment of the growing fetus in vivo, starting with a gestational age of 18 weeks. It is a useful method, complementary to standard ultrasound examinations, where especially the brain parenchyma and body malformations can be assessed well. In the last decades there was a constant development and a significant improvement in MRI technique, leading to a better image quality and resolution. This opened the possibility to quantify subtle structures such as the cerebellum and brainstem. The prenatal posterior fossa is a challenging field of research with many different aspects (anatomical, embryological, and functional).

Grants

• Assessment of Brain Maturation in Fetuses with Congenital Heart Disease –a single center prospective fetal US and MRI stud (2020)
  Source of Funding: Medical University of Vienna, Comprehensive center for pediatrics starter grant
  Principal Investigator

Selected publications

1. Dovjak, G.O. et al. (2022) ‘Brainstem and cerebellar volumes at MRI are smaller in fetuses with congenital heart disease’, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology [Preprint]. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2022.03.030.
2. Dovjak, G.O. et al. (2021) ‘Abnormal Extracardiac Development in Fetuses With Congenital Heart Disease’, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 78(23), pp. 2312–2322. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2021.09.1358.
3. Dovjak, G.O. et al. (2021) ‘Normal human brainstem development in vivo: a quantitative fetal MRI study’, Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 58(2), pp. 254–263. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/uog.22162.
4. Dovjak, G.O. et al. (2020) ‘Quantitative fetal magnetic resonance imaging assessment of cystic posterior fossa malformations’, Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 56(1), pp. 78–85. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/uog.21890.
5. Dovjak, G.O. et al. (2018) ‘Prenatal assessment of cerebellar vermian lobulation: fetal MRI with 3-Tesla postmortem validation’, Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 52(5), pp. 623–630. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/uog.18826.