Maternal Fetal Care Center | Research & Innovation

Boston Children’s Cerebrovascular Surgery and Interventions Center is conducting a clinical trial on fetal intervention for vein of Galen malformation, along with specialists from Boston Children’s Fetal Care and Surgery Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital Maternal Fetal Medicine Group.

Who is eligible?

Candidates for this intervention must have an in utero diagnosis of VOGM and will be assessed at the MFCC for appropriate fit for the trial.

Interested patient families should contact the MFCC at 617-355-6512 or email MFCCreferrals@childrens.harvard.edu.

Read our recruitment letter to learn whether your patients might be eligible.

Clinicians and researchers in the MFCC are currently overseeing or contributing to a variety of clinical research projects, including:

• Fetal Care Center Study: Researchers want to learn how to best measure the quality of care at fetal care centers. To learn more or to participate, visit the study website. You can also learn more by viewing this flyer.

• Newborn Medicine: There are two studies.

  • Advanced Fetal Imaging-Phase II: This study aims to advance fetal MRIs by designing MRI coils specifically for pregnant women and testing recently developed MRI image acquisition techniques.
  • MRI Assessment of Placental Health: The goal of this project is to develop methods that allow informed decision-making on the delivery time of fetuses at increased risk of stillbirth due to intrauterine growth restriction.
• For more information, call 857-245-5161 or email fetalMRI@crl.med.harvard.edu.
• Neurology and Cardiology
  Fetal Heart and Brain Project: The purpose of the study is to better understand brain development in fetuses with congenital heart disease and how it affects their long-term development.
• Cardiology
  National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative (NPC-QIC): This initiative aims to improve care and outcomes for infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) by expanding the NPC-QIC national registry.
• Radiology: There are multiple studies. For more information, call 857-245-5161 or email fetalMRI@crl.med.harvard.edu.
  • Imaging Early Brain Development: This study is focused on new ways to collect and analyze magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pictures for evaluating the brain structure and function of fetuses during pregnancy. We hope this will improve our ability to assess the brain development and care for patients with congenital anomalies.
  • Next-Generation In-Vivo Fetal Neuroimaging: Using advanced methods of image processing and machine learning, this study is focused on developing significantly improved, safe, and non-invasive fetal magnetic resonance imaging techniques to study fetal brain development. These techniques will dramatically improve the analysis of brain development in healthy fetuses and fetuses with congenital disorders or those at risk of developing abnormalities. The techniques are expected to guide development of more effective treatments and therapeutic interventions, which are expected to vastly improve patient outcomes.
  • Advanced Microstructural and Vascular Neuroimaging in Perinatal Stroke: This study is focused on the development of new, safe, and non-invasive medical imaging technology that will enable fast, efficient, and safe in vivo evaluation of neurovascular structures and characterization of normal versus abnormal brain growth in fetuses and neonates with perinatal stroke. The new imaging technologies and knowledge that will be developed in this study enables can guide early preventive interventions to improve clinical outcomes and reduce the burdens of human disability.
• Urology
  Fetal Renal Extracorporeal Evaluation (FREE): This study is testing a painless, entirely non-invasive way to evaluate kidney function of a fetus using an MRI machine. For more information, call 617-919-6354 or email badar.omar@childrens.harvard.edu.