OBJECTIVE To investigate the prevalence of detectable jugular lymphatic sacs in a setting for first trimester screening for Down syndrome, and to evaluate the influence of jugular lymphatic sacs on the screening performance for chromosomal abnormalities. METHODS A prospective single center study (Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands) over a period of one year (January...

BACKGROUND Nuchal translucency (NT) is the fluid collection behind the fetal neck which can be measured by ultrasound at 11-14 weeks of gestation. Increase in the nuchal translucency thickness is associated with various congenital anomalies. OBJECTIVE To study the relationship between nuchal translucency thickness, crown rump length and gestational age in normal fetus. METHODS Prospective a...

Keyword Down syndrome, Trisomy, Nuchal Translucency, Chromosomal Abnormalities, Gray Level Cooccurrence Matrix(GLCM), Support Vector Machine (SVM) Down syndrome or Trisomy 21 is a genetic disorder which causes mental disability to the baby during the gestation period. Ultrasound scan, a noninvasive test which includes ultrasound fetal image scan for the Nuchal Translucency measurement (NT). Thi...

Objective Increased nuchal translucency in the human fetus is associated with aneuploidy, structural malformations and several syndromes such as Noonan syndrome. In 60-70% of the Noonan syndrome cases, a gene mutation can be demonstrated. Previous research showed that aneuploid fetuses with increased nuchal translucency demonstrate an aberrant lymphatic endothelial diff erentiation. Methods Fet...

OBJECTIVE To compare the effects, safety, and cost effectiveness of antenatal screening strategies for Down's syndrome. DESIGN Analysis of incremental cost effectiveness. SETTING United Kingdom. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Number of liveborn babies with Down's syndrome, miscarriages due to chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis, health care costs of screening programme, and additional costs...

Nuchal translucency (NT) measurement in first trimester screening between 11 and 14 weeks' gestation has now been clearly identified as a marker for aneuploidies and in particular for trisomy 21. Even in the absence of aneuploidy increased fetal nuchal translucency has been shown to be a marker for fetal heart malformations and numerous other fetal defects and genetic syndromes when the measure...

OBJECTIVE To assess a possible relationship between ductus venosus blood flow abnormalities and cardiac defects in chromosomally normal fetuses with increased nuchal translucency thickness at 10-14 weeks of gestation. METHODS Ductus venosus Doppler ultrasound blood flow velocity waveforms were obtained at 10-14 weeks' gestation immediately before fetal karyotyping in 200 consecutive singleton...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of verification bias on the accuracy of first-trimester nuchal translucency measurement for Down syndrome detection. METHODS We used MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify all papers relating the results of nuchal translucency measurement to fetal karyotype. The detected studies were scored for verification bias. Fifteen studies without and ten with verification bias ...

Ultrasound screening is performed during early pregnancy for assessment of fetal well being and prenatal diagnosis of fetal chromosomal anomalies including measurement of nuchal translucency (NT) thickness. The drawback of current NT measurement technique is restricted with inter and intro-observer variability and inconsistency of results. Hence, we present an automated detection and measuremen...