Jérôme Baranger
(Department of Pediatrics, Labatt Family Heart Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Translation Medicine Department, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
Olivier Villemain
(Department of Pediatrics, Labatt Family Heart Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Translation Medicine Department, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada)
Matthias Wagner
(Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Division of Neuroradiology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada)
Mariella Vargas-Gutierrez
(Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada)
Mike Seed
(Department of Pediatrics, Labatt Family Heart Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Translation Medicine Department, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada)
Olivier Baud
(Division of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care, Children's University Hospital of Geneva and University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland)
Birgit Ertl-Wagner
(Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Division of Neuroradiology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada)
Julien Aguet
(Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; Corresponding author.)
Abnormal variations of the neonatal brain perfusion can result in long-term neurodevelopmental consequences and cerebral perfusion imaging can play an important role in diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making. To identify at-risk situations, perfusion imaging of the neonatal brain must accurately evaluate both regional and global perfusion. To date, neonatal cerebral perfusion assessment remains challenging. The available modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound imaging, computed tomography (CT), near-infrared spectroscopy or nuclear imaging have multiple compromises and limitations. Several promising methods are being developed to achieve better diagnostic accuracy and higher robustness, in particular using advanced MRI and ultrasound techniques.The objective of this state-of-the-art review is to analyze the methodology and challenges of neonatal brain perfusion imaging, to describe the currently available modalities, and to outline future perspectives.