1.Assessment of pulmonary artery stiffness in fetuses with tetralogy of Fallot
Yushan LIU ; Shi ZENG ; Ran XU ; Dan ZHOU ; Yang YANG ; Ganqiong XU
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2025;34(2):149-154
Objective:To evaluate the elastic characteristics of the pulmonary trunk and its distal branches in fetuses with tetralogy of Fallot(TOF)by Doppler echocardiography.Methods:A total of 42 fetuses with TOF(TOF group)and 84 gestational age-matched normal fetuses(control group)were prospectively collected from the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from August 2022 to January 2023. The severity of TOF was classified into mild TOF(Z-score≥-2),moderate TOF(-4
2.Ultrasonographic manifestations of fetal atypical hepatic hemangioma:a case report
Qin LIN ; Dongmei LIU ; Jiangli DONG ; Kexuan LIU ; Jiali YU ; Jiangyi ZHAO ; Ganqiong XU
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2025;34(4):348-351
The pregnant woman was 34 years old,G9P0,at 32 weeks of gestation,the routine prenatal examination of the fetus in the Second Xiangya Hospital,Central South University indicated that “The hyperechoic mass in the right lobe of the liver,Hepatic hemangioma?Hepatoblastoma?”. Since then,multiple fetal and postnatal color ultrasound scans indicated progressive enlargement of the mass. The fluctuation of serum alphafetoprotein(AFP)was increased after birth,the possibility of a malignant tumor could not be ruled out by imaging and laboratory examinations. The child underwent hepatectomy 70 days after birth. The final diagnosis was hepatic hemangioma,and a one-year follow-up showed that she had a good prognosis. Fetal liver hemangioma is the most common benign liver tumor,prenatal ultrasound diagnosis is not difficult. However,atypical fetal hepatic hemangioma has complex ultrasound manifestations,and prenatal diagnosis is hard to determine its nature. In this article,the ultrasonographic features of typical and atypical fetal hepatic hemangioma were compared to provide the basis for early diagnosis of atypical fetal hepatic hemangioma.
3.Ultrasound "triangular method" for evaluation of morphological characteristics of the aortic arch in normal mid-to-late trimester fetuses
Pan YANG ; Yuanchen LUO ; Shi ZENG ; Ganqiong XU ; Yushan LIU ; Yang YANG ; Minzhi OUYANG
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2025;34(5):391-396
Objective:To investigate the feasibility of the ultrasound "triangular method" in evaluating the morphology of the aortic arch in normal mid-to-late trimester fetuses,establish the gestational age-specific reference ranges for its morphological parameters,and to analyze their correlations with gestational age(GA)and cardiac valve annulus diameters.Methods:A prospective study was conducted on 317 normal singleton fetuses at 20-38 +6 weeks of gestation from the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. Morphological parameters including arch length(a+b),arch width(w),arch height(h)and arch angle(θ)were measured using the "triangular method" in the aortic arch long-axis view. Arch tortuosity(a+b/w)and height-to-width ratio(h/w)were calculated. Linear regression was used to analyze correlations between arch length,width,height and GA,the reference intervals were established. Pearson correlation was applied to assess relationships between angle,tortuosity,height-to-width ratio and GA,cardiac valve annulus diameters(aortic,pulmonary,mitral,tricuspid). Results:Aortic arch length,width and height showed strong positive correlations with GA( r = 0.88,0.88,0.85;all P < 0.001). The arch angle,tortuosity,and height-to-width ratio were independent of GA(all P > 0.05),with reference values of(69.2 ± 6.1)°,1.7 ± 0.1,and 0.7 ± 0.1,respectively. These parameters also showed no significant correlations with cardiac valve annulus diameters(all P > 0.05). Conclusions:The ultrasound "triangular method" systematically quantifies fetal aortic arch morphology. The stability of arch angle,tortuosity and height-to-width ratio during mid-to-late gestation may provide a morphological benchmark for prenatal screening of aortic arch anomalies.
4.Familial DUOX2 mutation:diagnosis and treatment of fetal goiter and hypothyroidism
Qin LIN ; Kexuan LIU ; Jiangli DONG ; Jiali YU ; Jiangyi ZHAO ; Zhu OUYANG ; Ganqiong XU
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2025;34(6):533-536
The pregnant woman was 39 years old,G2P1,a fetal goiter was found at 25 weeks at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University,and thyroid function was normal during the pregnancy. Amniocentesis revealed the presence of two DUOX2 mutations in fetal DNA:c.3340delC(P.L1114Sfs56)in exon 25 and c.2654G>A(p.R885Q)in exon 20,which were determined to be heritable by familial genetic testing. Many fetal and neonatal ultrasounds have shown goiter,rich blood flow in the parenchyma and low postnatal thyroid hormone levels led to the diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism. The patient was given L-thyroxine 30 μg/d. After 3 months of follow-up,the thyroid function was normal without developmental problems.
5.Recognition of normal fetal echocardiogram based on an explainable denosing deep learning model
Shuhao SONG ; Shi ZENG ; Ganqiong XU ; Yang YANG ; Yushan LIU ; Pan YANG ; Heyi TAN
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2025;34(6):511-517
Objective:To evaluate the value of the proposed interpretable denoising deep learning model-grouped sharing convolutional attention-visual transformer(GSCAViT)for classifying normal fetal echocardiograms.Methods:A total of 2 501 images from 358 fetuses who underwent cardiac ultrasound examinations at Xiangya Second Hospital of Central South University from January to November 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. GSCAViT was constructed based on fetal echocardiograms from the three-vessel and trachea view,apical four-chamber view,long-axis view of the aortic arch,bicaval view,left ventricular outflow tract view,three-vessel view and right ventricular outflow tract view were compared with both baseline and improved models in the validation set to assess the performance of the classification echocardiography in terms of accuracy,precision,recall and F1-score. Its generalizability across test sets was assessed using the area under the ROC curve(AUC),sensitivity,specificity and F1-score. The impact of image features was interpreted using SHapley Additive exPlanations(SHAP).The effectiveness of the GSCA module was compared through visual analysis,image parameter metrics and classification performance.Results:The GSCAViT model achieved classification performance for fetal echocardiograms second only to MaxViT,with an accuracy of 97.1%,precision of 97.1%,recall of 97.0%,and an F1-score of 97.0%. In the E10,E20 and E8 test sets,the AUCs of GSCAViT for the prediction of 7 types of fetal echocardiograms were 0.994,0.928 and 0.932,the sensitivities were 99.4%,81.3% and 72.9%,the specificities were 99.7%,96.8% and 94.8%,the F1-scores were 99.4%,81.3% and 67.6%,respectively. SHAP visualization indicated that the model could identify key structural features within the images. Images processed by the denoising-guided group-sharing convolutional attention module best captured and enhanced important regional features,achieving the highest contrast-to-noise ratio,peak signal-to-noise ratio and optimal classification performance,which demonstrated the module's effectiveness.Conclusions:The proposed GSCAViT model exhibits superior performance in classifying seven types of normal fetal echocardiograms compared to the baseline and some improved models. Furthermore,SHAP visualization enhances the interpretability of the classification results,and visual comparisons,image parameter analyses,as well as classification performance metrics confirming the effectiveness of the denoising-guided group-sharing convolutional attention module in the visual transformer model.
6.Assessment of pulmonary artery stiffness in fetuses with tetralogy of Fallot
Yushan LIU ; Shi ZENG ; Ran XU ; Dan ZHOU ; Yang YANG ; Ganqiong XU
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2025;34(2):149-154
Objective:To evaluate the elastic characteristics of the pulmonary trunk and its distal branches in fetuses with tetralogy of Fallot(TOF)by Doppler echocardiography.Methods:A total of 42 fetuses with TOF(TOF group)and 84 gestational age-matched normal fetuses(control group)were prospectively collected from the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from August 2022 to January 2023. The severity of TOF was classified into mild TOF(Z-score≥-2),moderate TOF(-4
7.Ultrasonographic manifestations of fetal atypical hepatic hemangioma:a case report
Qin LIN ; Dongmei LIU ; Jiangli DONG ; Kexuan LIU ; Jiali YU ; Jiangyi ZHAO ; Ganqiong XU
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2025;34(4):348-351
The pregnant woman was 34 years old,G9P0,at 32 weeks of gestation,the routine prenatal examination of the fetus in the Second Xiangya Hospital,Central South University indicated that “The hyperechoic mass in the right lobe of the liver,Hepatic hemangioma?Hepatoblastoma?”. Since then,multiple fetal and postnatal color ultrasound scans indicated progressive enlargement of the mass. The fluctuation of serum alphafetoprotein(AFP)was increased after birth,the possibility of a malignant tumor could not be ruled out by imaging and laboratory examinations. The child underwent hepatectomy 70 days after birth. The final diagnosis was hepatic hemangioma,and a one-year follow-up showed that she had a good prognosis. Fetal liver hemangioma is the most common benign liver tumor,prenatal ultrasound diagnosis is not difficult. However,atypical fetal hepatic hemangioma has complex ultrasound manifestations,and prenatal diagnosis is hard to determine its nature. In this article,the ultrasonographic features of typical and atypical fetal hepatic hemangioma were compared to provide the basis for early diagnosis of atypical fetal hepatic hemangioma.
8.Ultrasound "triangular method" for evaluation of morphological characteristics of the aortic arch in normal mid-to-late trimester fetuses
Pan YANG ; Yuanchen LUO ; Shi ZENG ; Ganqiong XU ; Yushan LIU ; Yang YANG ; Minzhi OUYANG
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2025;34(5):391-396
Objective:To investigate the feasibility of the ultrasound "triangular method" in evaluating the morphology of the aortic arch in normal mid-to-late trimester fetuses,establish the gestational age-specific reference ranges for its morphological parameters,and to analyze their correlations with gestational age(GA)and cardiac valve annulus diameters.Methods:A prospective study was conducted on 317 normal singleton fetuses at 20-38 +6 weeks of gestation from the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. Morphological parameters including arch length(a+b),arch width(w),arch height(h)and arch angle(θ)were measured using the "triangular method" in the aortic arch long-axis view. Arch tortuosity(a+b/w)and height-to-width ratio(h/w)were calculated. Linear regression was used to analyze correlations between arch length,width,height and GA,the reference intervals were established. Pearson correlation was applied to assess relationships between angle,tortuosity,height-to-width ratio and GA,cardiac valve annulus diameters(aortic,pulmonary,mitral,tricuspid). Results:Aortic arch length,width and height showed strong positive correlations with GA( r = 0.88,0.88,0.85;all P < 0.001). The arch angle,tortuosity,and height-to-width ratio were independent of GA(all P > 0.05),with reference values of(69.2 ± 6.1)°,1.7 ± 0.1,and 0.7 ± 0.1,respectively. These parameters also showed no significant correlations with cardiac valve annulus diameters(all P > 0.05). Conclusions:The ultrasound "triangular method" systematically quantifies fetal aortic arch morphology. The stability of arch angle,tortuosity and height-to-width ratio during mid-to-late gestation may provide a morphological benchmark for prenatal screening of aortic arch anomalies.
9.Familial DUOX2 mutation:diagnosis and treatment of fetal goiter and hypothyroidism
Qin LIN ; Kexuan LIU ; Jiangli DONG ; Jiali YU ; Jiangyi ZHAO ; Zhu OUYANG ; Ganqiong XU
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2025;34(6):533-536
The pregnant woman was 39 years old,G2P1,a fetal goiter was found at 25 weeks at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University,and thyroid function was normal during the pregnancy. Amniocentesis revealed the presence of two DUOX2 mutations in fetal DNA:c.3340delC(P.L1114Sfs56)in exon 25 and c.2654G>A(p.R885Q)in exon 20,which were determined to be heritable by familial genetic testing. Many fetal and neonatal ultrasounds have shown goiter,rich blood flow in the parenchyma and low postnatal thyroid hormone levels led to the diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism. The patient was given L-thyroxine 30 μg/d. After 3 months of follow-up,the thyroid function was normal without developmental problems.
10.Recognition of normal fetal echocardiogram based on an explainable denosing deep learning model
Shuhao SONG ; Shi ZENG ; Ganqiong XU ; Yang YANG ; Yushan LIU ; Pan YANG ; Heyi TAN
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2025;34(6):511-517
Objective:To evaluate the value of the proposed interpretable denoising deep learning model-grouped sharing convolutional attention-visual transformer(GSCAViT)for classifying normal fetal echocardiograms.Methods:A total of 2 501 images from 358 fetuses who underwent cardiac ultrasound examinations at Xiangya Second Hospital of Central South University from January to November 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. GSCAViT was constructed based on fetal echocardiograms from the three-vessel and trachea view,apical four-chamber view,long-axis view of the aortic arch,bicaval view,left ventricular outflow tract view,three-vessel view and right ventricular outflow tract view were compared with both baseline and improved models in the validation set to assess the performance of the classification echocardiography in terms of accuracy,precision,recall and F1-score. Its generalizability across test sets was assessed using the area under the ROC curve(AUC),sensitivity,specificity and F1-score. The impact of image features was interpreted using SHapley Additive exPlanations(SHAP).The effectiveness of the GSCA module was compared through visual analysis,image parameter metrics and classification performance.Results:The GSCAViT model achieved classification performance for fetal echocardiograms second only to MaxViT,with an accuracy of 97.1%,precision of 97.1%,recall of 97.0%,and an F1-score of 97.0%. In the E10,E20 and E8 test sets,the AUCs of GSCAViT for the prediction of 7 types of fetal echocardiograms were 0.994,0.928 and 0.932,the sensitivities were 99.4%,81.3% and 72.9%,the specificities were 99.7%,96.8% and 94.8%,the F1-scores were 99.4%,81.3% and 67.6%,respectively. SHAP visualization indicated that the model could identify key structural features within the images. Images processed by the denoising-guided group-sharing convolutional attention module best captured and enhanced important regional features,achieving the highest contrast-to-noise ratio,peak signal-to-noise ratio and optimal classification performance,which demonstrated the module's effectiveness.Conclusions:The proposed GSCAViT model exhibits superior performance in classifying seven types of normal fetal echocardiograms compared to the baseline and some improved models. Furthermore,SHAP visualization enhances the interpretability of the classification results,and visual comparisons,image parameter analyses,as well as classification performance metrics confirming the effectiveness of the denoising-guided group-sharing convolutional attention module in the visual transformer model.

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