Magnetic Resonance Imaging Autopsy Study

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The aim of this project is to establish whether magnetic resonance (MR) imaging can provide a minimally invasive approach for post-mortem assessment of the fetus, infant and child, with similar detection rates for anomalies and determination of the cause of death. This will be achieved by acquiring a database of whole-body, post-mortem MR images in approximately 400 fetuses, infants and children, over a 3 years period. Images will be acquired on a dedicated 1.5T research MR scanner. MR images will be reported by an expert group of paediatric radiologists, and compared, in a blinded fashion, with reports from conventional autopsy performed by expert perinatal and paediatric pathologists. Importantly, the post-mortem information will be assessed with reference to the needs of the parents, referring clinicians and HM Coroners. The detection of central nervous system abnormalities will be assessed separately. The study will be performed across two sites: A dedicated children's hospital (Great Ormond Street Hospital) and a teaching hospital, with large obstetric, fetal and neonatal departments (University College London Hospital), which are linked academically by University College London. Co-ordination of the project will be managed by a steering committee, which will ensure accurate collation and comparison of the data.

Official Title
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Post Mortem Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Fetus, Infant and Child: A Comparative Study With Conventional Autopsy

Conditions
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Stillbirths, Sudden Infant Death

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Fetuses, newborns and Infants undergoing conventional autopsy Exclusion Criteria: Lack of parental consent

Ages Eligible for Study
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Maximum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Fetuses<br>Still birth and Termination of pregnancies | |
| Children<br>Includes Newborns, Infants and Children | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Number of cases where the cause of death and/or major pathological lesions are detected | Conventional autopsy will be considered as the gold standard. The number (%) of cases where post-mortem MR imaging identifies the cause of death and/or major pathological lesions when compared with conventional autopsy will be reported | 6 weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| MR appearance of death-induced artefacts. | The common artefacts seen on post-mortem MR imaging will be described | 6 weeks | 
| Number of cases where there is a change in ante-mortem diagnosis | Number of cases where there is a change in ante-mortem diagnosis following post-mortem MR imaging will be reported | 6 weeks | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Autopsy, MRI, Stillbirths, Neonatal death, Sudden Infant death