Review of shear wave elastography in placental function evaluations

Background: Ultrasound is key to evaluating placental function. However, traditional ultrasound examinations cannot evaluate the changes in the biomechanical properties of the placenta in vivo. As a non-invasive technique, shear wave elastography (SWE) can be used analyze the physiological and biomechanical properties of the placenta. Moreover, it can evaluate the pathological changes in early placental insufficiency in a more direct and sensitive manner.Objective: This study aimed to systematically introduce SWE in placental function evaluations.Materials and methods: The terms 'placenta', 'ultrasound', and 'elastography' were searched on Pubmed, Embase, and CNKI databases (Apr 2023); this review was limited to results including placental sonoelastography.Results: Twenty-six studies satisfied the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Herein, we introduce the basic principle of SWE, analyze the factors affecting placental measurements, and summarize the prospects of clinical applications of SWE in the field of obstetrical diseases.Conclusion: The SWE technology demonstrates excellent clinical application value and research prospects in obstetrics, particularly in placental function evaluation, owing to its objective and repeatable quantitative operation.