Dear Colleagues,

Since the introduction of cranial ultrasonography (CUS) in the previous century, tremendous changes and improvements in its quality and applicability have taken place: detailed images that allow for the reliable detection of focal lesions, more global injury and congenital malformations have gradually replaced the hazy, grainy images that were initially obtained when the technology was first introduced. Due to its improved quality, in addition to its availability, safety and patient friendliness, CUS has become the primary modality used to assess the neonatal brain.

MRI is complementary to CUS: it allows for the detection of the smallest (punctate) lesions, for the earlier detection of lesions, for the more precise determination of the exact size and location of abnormalities, and for the timing of the injury to be determined. In addition, quantitative measures aid in the understanding and monitoring of brain development.

In the current Special Issue of Children, we will focus on the often undervalued applicability of CUS, and on the further improvement in MRI techniques in order to overcome artefacts that are often seen in neonatal MRIs. We will also focus on imaging the brains of a large, relatively neglected population, i.e., moderate and late preterm infants.

Furthermore, we will introduce a specially developed CUS learning modality, the Calgary Sonographic Clinical Assessment of the Newborn (SCAN) program, and a CUS smartphone application for the reliable detection and classification of preterm intraventricular haemorrhage, cerebellar haemorrhage and white matter injury.

We hope you will enjoy this special issue, dedicated to the vulnerable neonatal brain.

Dr. Gerda Meijler
Guest Editor

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• cranial ultrasonography
• MRI
• neonate
• brain preterm