Infant cerebral ventricle volume: a comparison of 3-D ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging

Enlargement of the cerebral lateral ventricles is observed in several neuropsychiatric disorders with origins in early brain development. Lateral ventricle size is also predictive of poor neurodevelopmental outcome in premature infants. 3D ultrasound offers an improved new methodology for the study of lateral ventricle volume in neonates. To assess the validity of ventricle volume measures obtained with 3D ultrasound, we compared the volumes obtained by 3D ultrasound with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 7 neonates. Ventricle volumes were determined using a computer-assisted image analysis program, IRIS. There was excellent correlation between ventricle volumes obtained with 3D ultrasound and those obtained with MRI (Pearson r = 0.96, p = 0.0005) indicating that 3D ultrasound provides valid measures of overall lateral ventricle volume. 3D ultrasound can provide an economical and practical means studying lateral ventricle volume in neonates, a neurostructural marker of abnormal brain development