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Poster Session 2

Category: Ultrasound/Imaging

Poster Session 2

(413) A novel ultrafast Doppler-based technique for differentiating maternal and fetal circulations within the placenta

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Submitting Author(s)

Megan D. Whitham, MD

Assistant Professor
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Roanoke, Virginia, United States

Presenting Author(s)

Amanda DeGraaf, MS (she/her/hers)

Medical Student
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Roanoke, Virginia, United States

Coauthor(s)

MG

Maegan Gabby, BS

Medical Student
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Roanoke, Virginia, United States
SI

Sofia Issel, BS

Research Intern
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia, United States
NJ

Nicholas Joseph, BS

Clinical Research Coordinator
Carilion Clinic
24014, Virginia, United States
AD

Allison Durica, MD

Associate Professor
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Roanoke, Virginia, United States
YZ

Yuanbin Zhu, BS

PhD Student
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia, United States
AH

Aiguo Han, PhD

Assistant Professor
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia, United States

Objective:
To describe a novel imaging method using ultrafast Doppler ultrasound combined with advanced algorithmic analysis to noninvasively differentiate maternal and fetal blood flow within the placenta.

Study Design:
We developed and tested a placental imaging technique that applies ultrafast Doppler to capture high-sensitivity perfusion data from the intervillous and fetal vascular spaces using a Verasonics Vantage 256 ultrasound. Ultrafast power Doppler imaging (uPDI) enabled visualization of the primary, secondary and tertiary branches patterns of the placental villous trees. Custom algorithms were applied to pixel-by-pixel waveform data to classify flow signals as either maternal or fetal based on three physiological principles: (1) heart rate (2) pulsatility index patterns and (3) localized waveform morphology and flow disturbance features. Composite flow maps were generated to distinguish and visualize the two circulatory systems in vivo.

Results:
We demonstrate that when paired with ultrafast Doppler data acquisition and uPDI techniques, branching patterns of chorionic villi can be visualized in vivo. We applied an algorithmic approach to separate maternal and fetal signals, producing visually distinct perfusion maps. Our technique identifies fetal circulation based on higher heart rate and low-resistance flow, and maternal flow by lower-frequency, higher-resistance waveforms and greater turbulence near spiral artery entry points. The resulting spatial flow profiles reveal regional heterogeneity.

Conclusion:
This novel ultrafast Doppler-based method enables in vivo distinction of villous branching patterns and differentiation of maternal and fetal blood flow within the placenta using a noninvasive, algorithmic approach based on physiologic principles. This technique demonstrates great promise in direct visualization of the microvascular environment. Future work will focus on correlation with pregnancy outcomes and placental histopathology.