Ge voluson e10

Fetal HQ combining TomTec analysis software and Professor Devore’s graphs, Z-scores, and centiles can be used on the new version of the GE Voluson E10 (General Electric Healthcare Ultrasound, Zipf, Austria) Ultrasound System. The tool first obtains measurements of the global heart size and shape in the 4CV. To start, we selected an optimal dynamic image of the 4CV and then clicked the “measure” button of the fetal HQ tool. In the operation interface of fetal HQ, the end-diastolic basal–apical length and the end-diastolic transverse width were measured in the longest dimension according to the prompts. The global sphericity index (GSI) was obtained by dividing the end-diastolic basal–apical length by the end-diastolic transverse width (Fig. 1).Fig. 1

Measurement of the fetal cardiac GSI of gestational diabetes mothers at 32 gestational weeks. A longitudinal line is drawn from the apex to the base of the cardiac outer edge and a transverse line is drawn from the sidewall of the LV to the sidewall of the RV at the end of diastole. The GSI can be obtained by dividing the end-diastolic basal–apical length by the end-diastolic transverse width. GSI: global sphericity index; LV: left ventricle; RV: right ventricle

All participants received transvaginal ultrasonography (GE Voluson E10, GE Healthcare, Solingen, Germany) at 7–12 weeks of pregnancy to accurately calculate the gestational age. The calculation of gestational age was based on the following formula: gestational age = crown-rump-length (cm) + 6.5 [11 (link)].

All participants underwent transvaginal ultrasonography whenever feasible. Transabdominal ultrasonography was performed in cases where the tumour size prevented complete visualisation using transvaginal ultrasonography. Transrectal or transabdominal ultrasonography was performed if the patient was unsuitable for a transvaginal ultrasound examination. Some ultrasound equipment, such as GE Voluson E10, GE Voluson E8, GE Healthcare (GE Medical Systems, Zipf, Austria), and Mindray Resona R9, was used for data collection. The transducers used in this study included the RIC5-9-D and V11-3HU transvaginal probes and the C1-5-D and SC6-1U transabdominal probes. Various ultrasound semantic features were recorded, such as the maximum diameter of the lesion and its classification (≤ 50 mm, 50–100 mm, and ≥ 100 mm), the characteristics of the mass (cystic, mixed cystic and solid, and solid), the colour flow score (1, no flow signal; 2, small amount of blood flow signal; 3, moderate blood flow signal; and 4, enriched blood flow signals), the side of the lesion (unilateral or bilateral), and the presence or absence of ascites. The mass with the most complex morphological structure or the largest volume was selected when multiple ovarian-adnexal masses were present [18 (link), 37 (link), 43 (link)].

Ultrasound examinations were performed on a 4-weekly interval between 14 and 40 weeks of gestation by certified research sonographers using either a Philips iU22 (Philips Healthcare, Andover, MA, USA) or GE Voluson e10 (GE Healthcare, Chicago, IL, USA) ultrasound system. Pulsed Doppler spectra of the left and right proximal uterine arteries were collected at the crossover point of the external iliac artery and main uterine artery [28 (link)]. Patients were followed until delivery and pregnancies were classified retrospectively as either normal or complicated. Normal pregnancies were defined as normotensive women who delivered at term with neonatal birth weight appropriate for gestational age. Complicated pregnancies were defined as one or more of maternal preeclampsia (diagnosed according to ACOG guidelines [29 ]), preterm birth (delivery < 37 weeks’ gestation), or small for gestational age (SGA) neonate (birth weight < 10th centile according to population growth charts [30 (link)]). The PI for each uterine artery was computed from the traced average Doppler waveforms as the difference between the peak systolic (PSV) and end-diastolic velocities (EDV), divided by the time-averaged mean velocity (TAMV) over the cardiac cycle (PI = (PSV−EDV)/TAMV).