The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the oxygen saturation of blood in the fetal brain based on T2 and T2* measurements in a fetal sheep model. Five sheep fetuses were investigated during normoxia and hypoxia by 3T MRI. Multi-echo gradient-echo and turbo-spin-echo sequences were performed on the fetal brain. MR-determined oxygen saturation (MR-sO(2)) of blood in the fetal brain was calculated based on T2 and T2* values. Fetal arterial blood oxygen saturation (blood-sO(2)) was measured during the two experimental phases. The slope of MR-sO(2) as a function of blood-sO(2) was estimated and tested for compatibility using the one-sample t-test. During normoxia, mean values for carotid blood oxygen saturation were 67%, 83 ms for T2*, 202 ms for T2 and 96% for MR-sO(2). During hypoxia, arterial blood oxygen saturation, T2* and calculated MR-sO(2) decreased to 22%, 64 ms, and 68% respectively. The one-sample t-test revealed the slope to be significantly different from 0 (T = 5.023, df = 4, P = 0.007). It is feasible to perform quantitative T2 and T2* measurements in the fetal brain. MR-sO(2) and fetal arterial blood oxygen saturation correlated significantly. However, based on these data a reliable quantification of fetal brain tissue oxygenation is not possible.
