Cerebral oxygen delivery in newborns with congenital heart disease by phase contrast MRI

Background Congenital heart disease (CHD) is associated with in utero brain dysmaturation and abnormal cerebral vasculature [1,2]. Phase contrast (PC) MRI allows non-invasive quantification of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and, combined with arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) and haemoglobin (Hgb) concentration, can measure cerebral oxygen delivery (CDO2). We hypothesized that CDO2 would be lower in newborns with CHD than normals.