Analysis of fetal cortical complexity from MR images using 3D entropy based information fractal dimension

The fetal cortical complexity is a significant quantification for assessing the development of fetal brain. This study attempts to quantify the development of fetal cortical complexity using the concept of fractal dimension (FD) analysis. Thirty-two fetal MR images were selected from Taipei Veterans General Hospital at 27–37 weeks of gestational age (GA). To investigate the FD of fetal cortical complexity, the entropy based information fractal dimension method (FDEBI), which is modified from Box-Counting method, was adopted and extended from 2D to 3D. The FD results from overall whole fetal brains show that the increase of cortical complexity is highly correlated with the gestational age of the fetus. Moreover, the FD values of right hemispheric brain are larger than those of left hemispheric brain, show that the development of right hemispheric fetal cortical complexity earlier than the left. These results are in good agreement with normal fetal brain development and suggest that the FD is an effective means for the quantification of fetal cortical complexity.