
Fetal Central Nervous System Diagnostics
We invite you to participate in a two-day international conference entirely devoted to fetal neurosonography – one of the most demanding and rapidly developing fields of prenatal diagnostics. The event is aimed at physicians wishing to deepen their knowledge, consolidate their skills, and work in accordance with the highest international standards.
The conference constitutes an advanced substantive training focused on the practical aspects of neurosonographic examination and the interpretation of complex clinical cases, including an interdisciplinary approach that encompasses the perspective of clinical genetics.


Prof. Gustavo Malinger
Tel-Aviv/Israel
Director, OB-GYN Ultrasound Division at Tel Aviv Medical Center, Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv / Israel, His main field of research is on the fetal brain and has published more than 180 articles and book chapters.

Dr Karina Krajden Haratz
Tel-Aviv/Israel
Director, OB-GYN Ultrasound Division at Tel Aviv Medical Center, Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv / Israel, Assistant Professor at Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv / Israel

Dr Roee Birnbaum
Tel-Aviv/Israel
MD, Consultant in prenatal diagnosis, Sourasky medical center, Faculty ISUOG, Tel-Aviv, Tel Aviv / Israel

Dr Anastasija Arechvo
London
MD, PhD, MSc, is a Consultant in Fetal Medicine at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary/Adjunct Senior Lecturer at King’s College London, with a special clinical and academic interest in fetal neurosonography. She leads the multi-site fetal neurosonography clinic spanning King’s College Hospital, Queen’s Hospital (Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust), and Luton & Dunstable University Hospital, and co-leads postgraduate teaching programmes at King’s College London and St George’s, University of London. A graduate of Vilnius University, she has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications on fetal brain assessment, fetal growth restriction, and pre-eclampsia screening, working closely with the Fetal Medicine Foundation research group. She is Scientific Director and a regular invited speaker at international fetal neurosonography courses, including at Texas Children’s Hospital, and contributes to the global EMBRACE maternal and child health study.

Prof. Dr. med. Rabih Chaoui
Berlin
Prof. Dr. med. Rabih Chaoui is Co-Director of the Center for Prenatal Diagnosis and Human Genetics in Berlin, Germany, and a former Professor at the Charité Women’s Clinic, Humboldt University Berlin. He is internationally recognized as a leading authority in fetal echocardiography, 3D/4D fetal ultrasound, first-trimester screening, and prenatal diagnosis of fetal CNS anomalies. He served on the Board of ISUOG (2003–2013) and chaired its Education Committee, and was awarded the ISUOG Stuart Campbell Award for Education in 2018. He is a member of DEGUM, DGGG, the Fetal Medicine Foundation, and ISUOG’s Fetal Heart Special Interest Group. Author of numerous publications and several textbooks, including 3D Ultrasound in Prenatal Diagnosis: A Practical Approach, he is a regular invited speaker at major international fetal medicine and obstetric ultrasound congresses worldwide.

Prof. Tessa Homfray
London
Prof. Tessa Homfray, MBBS, FRCP, is a Consultant in Medical Genetics at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, King’s College Hospital, and Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals in London. She specializes in prenatal diagnosis, dysmorphology, and the genetics of inherited cardiac conditions, including cardiomyopathies, arrhythmias, and fetal long QT syndrome. She runs joint genetics clinics embedded within leading fetal medicine units, including the Harris Birthright Research Centre for Fetal Medicine at King’s College Hospital, fostering close collaboration between genetics, fetal medicine, and cardiology specialists. With over three decades of clinical and academic experience, she has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and is a frequent international speaker on genetics in fetal medicine and cardiac genetics.

Dr Waldemar Krzeszowski
Lodz
Specialist in foetal therapy and invasive diagnostics, graduate of the Medical University of Łódź.
Dr Waldemar Krzeszowski is an expert in foetal therapy and invasive diagnostics. His clinical practice focuses on advanced diagnostic procedures such as amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, and cordocentesis, enabling detailed genetic assessment of the foetus. He also specialises in the diagnosis and monitoring of pregnancies complicated by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), as well as in the identification and treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections during pregnancy. As a pioneer in Poland, he introduced combination therapy using valacyclovir and specific anti-CMV immunoglobulins. His areas of interest also include the diagnosis of endometriosis, in particular its deeply infiltrating form (DIE).
He is an active lecturer and trainer in the fields of foetal ultrasonography, echocardiography, and neurosonography – both in Poland and abroad. He collaborates with leading medical centres worldwide, including those in Tel Aviv, Leuven, and London.

Prof. Piotr Kaczmarek PhD, MD
Lodz
Prof. Piotr Kaczmarek, MD, PhD, DSc serves as Head of the Department of Gynaecology, Reproductive Medicine, Foetal Therapy, and the Diagnosis and Treatment of Infertility at the Institute of the Polish Mother’s Health Centre (ICZMP) in Łódź – one of the leading perinatal centres in Poland. He also holds the position of Regional Consultant for Perinatology for the Łódź region. His clinical activity covers a broad range of perinatology, with particular emphasis on intrauterine diagnostics and therapy. He specialises, among other areas, in the treatment of twin pregnancies complicated by twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), selective intrauterine growth restriction (sIUGR), and twin reversed arterial perfusion (TRAP) sequence. He also performs diagnostics and surgical treatment of complications arising from amniotic band syndrome. His areas of interest further include genetic ultrasonography, foetal echocardiography, and first- and second-trimester prenatal diagnostics.
He is a recognised expert and academic lecturer, actively involved in the training of specialists in gynaecology, obstetrics, and perinatology. He defines perinatology as a discipline that combines the fight against prematurity with advanced intrauterine diagnostics and therapy – a field in which Polish medicine has reached world-class standards.
• detailed assessment of fetal central nervous system anatomy and development,
• diagnosis of the most common and rare CNS defects,
• standardisation of neurosonographic examination in daily clinical practice,
• correlation of ultrasound imaging with further perinatal management,
• interpretation of neurosonographic abnormalities in the context of genetic diagnostics and prenatal counselling.
Practical workshops and live ultrasound scanning will be an integral part of the conference, allowing participants to directly observe examination techniques, imaging protocols, and case analysis methods used by world-class experts.
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DAY 1 — From the First Trimester to the Mid-Pregnancy Scan
Early diagnosis, first-trimester screening, neural tube defects, midline anomalies, ventriculomegaly
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8:00 – 8:15Course Opening and Welcome to ParticipantsW. Krzeszowski and G. Malinger
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8:15 – 8:45G. Malinger
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SESSION 1 — FIRST TRIMESTER (11–13+6 weeks) —The First Diagnostic Window
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8:45 – 9:15Normal Fetal CNS Anatomy in the First Trimester — What Must Be VisibleR. Birnbaum
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9:15 – 9:45First-Trimester Screening — IT, BS, BSOB, and the Fronto-Maxillary Facial Angle: How to InterpretA. Arechvo
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9:45 – 10:15Early Diagnosis of Neural Tube Defects (Anencephaly, Exencephaly, Open Spina Bifida)R. Chaoui
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10:45 – 11:00When to Suspect a CNS Anomaly in the First Trimester — A Diagnostic AlgorithmR. Chaoui
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11:00 – 11:30COFFEE BREAK
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SESSION 2 — Early Second Trimester (14–18 weeks) — The Developing Brain
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11:30 – 12:00CNS Anatomy at 14–18 Weeks — The Sequence of Structural AppearanceR. Chaoui
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12:00 – 12:30Early Extended Neurosonography (16–18 Weeks) — Indications, Technique, Limitations
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12:30 – 13:00Fetal Spine Assessment — Open and Closed Spinal Dysraphism
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13:00 – 14:30Lunch
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SESSION 3 — Mid-Pregnancy Screening (18–22 Weeks) and Midline Anomalies
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14:30 – 15:00The Neurosonography Protocol in Mid-Pregnancy Screening — Beyond the Basic PlanesW. Krzeszowski
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15:00 – 15:30Ventriculomegaly — Definition, Etiology, Natural History, and ClassificationG. Malinger
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15:30 – 16:00The Corpus Callosum — Complete and Partial Agenesis, Hypoplasia, Dysgenesis
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16:00 – 16:30The Cavum Septi Pellucidi — Abnormalities and Septo-Optic DysplasiaR. Chaoui
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16:30 – 17:00COFFEE BREAK
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17:00 – 17:30Intracranial Cysts — Interhemispheric, Arachnoid, and Choroid Plexus Cysts
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17:30 – 18:00Genetics of Midline Anomalies and Holoprosencephaly — From Microarray to Whole-Exome Sequencing
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DAY 2 — From the Second/Third Trimester to Acquired Pathologies
The developing cortex, malformations of cortical development, the posterior fossa, acquired pathologies, and clinical–MRI–genetic integration
SESSION 4 — “The Developing Brain” (20–40 Weeks) and Malformations of Cortical Development (MCD) -
8:00 – 8:30Brain Transformation at 20–40 Weeks — Normal Development of Gyration and SulcationG. Malinger
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8:30 – 9:00Microcephaly — Classification, Etiology, and Criteria for Prenatal DiagnosisG. Malinger
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9:00 – 9:30Macrocephaly and Brain Overgrowth — Differential DiagnosisG. Malinger
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9:30 – 10:00Malformations of Cortical Development (MCD) — Lissencephaly, Polymicrogyria, Hemimegalencephaly: Ultrasound FeaturesN. Krajden-Haratz
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10:00 – 10:30The Genetics of MCD — Beyond Chromosomal Microarray Analysis (CMA)T. Homfray
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10:30 – 11:00COFFEE BREAK
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SESSION 5 — The Posterior Fossa, Cerebellum, and Brainstem
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11:00 – 11:30Normal Cerebellar and Posterior Fossa Anatomy on Standard PlanesR. Birnbaum
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11:30 – 12:00Posterior Fossa Anomalies — DWM, Blake’s Pouch Cyst, Mega Cisterna Magna, Vermian Agenesis, and Cerebellar Vermis HypoplasiaN. Krajden-Haratz
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12:00 – 12:30Brainstem Anomalies and Midbrain-Hindbrain Junction Disorders (MBHB) — Rare but ImportantN. Krajden-Haratz
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12:30 – 13:00Genetics of Posterior Fossa Anomalies — From Gene Expansion to Exome SequencingT. Homfray
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13:00 – 14:00
Lunch
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SESSION 6 — Acquired Pathologies and the Third Trimester — When the Brain “Stops Developing Normally”
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14:00 – 14:30Intracranial Hemorrhage and Fetal Stroke — Ultrasound Findings, Etiology, and PrognosisG. Malinger
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14:30 – 15:00Fetal CNS Infections — CMV, Zika, Toxoplasmosis, Parvovirus B19: Characteristic FindingsA. Arechvo
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15:00 – 15:30Fetal CNS Cysts and Tumors — Criteria for Differential DiagnosisR. Birnbaum
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15:30 – 16:00COFFEE BREAK
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SESSION 7 — Integration: Ultrasound, MRI, Genetics, Fetal Therapy, and Counseling
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16:00 – 16:30When Is MRI Preferred over Ultrasound? — Indications, Timing, and Image CorrelationN. Krajden-Haratz
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16:30 – 17:00Fetal Therapy for CNS Anomalies — Surgical Spina Bifida Repair and Ventricular Shunting
ul. Komitetu Obrony Robotników 24
02-148 Warszawa




