Al Zahra Hospital Dubai establishes Dubai’s first dedicated, clinically integrated fetal MRI service

Al Zahra Hospital Dubai has established Dubai’s first dedicated, clinically integrated fetal MRI service, bringing specialist fetal imaging, maternal fetal medicine counselling and coordinated perinatal planning together within a single pathway. Developed over the past two years under the leadership of Dr Samina Dornan, Consultant in Maternal Fetal Medicine and Obstetrics & Gynaecology, in close collaboration with Professor Ayman Ismail Kamel, Head of the Radiology Department, and Dr Karim Azzam, Specialist Radiologist, the service is now fully operational and receiving referrals from across the UAE, neighbouring countries and the wider region. Dr Dornan’s interest in fetal MRI began during her years at the Royal Maternity Hospital Belfast, where she served as the Belfast Site Principal Investigator for the landmark MERIDIAN multicentre study. This major UK study demonstrated the important additional diagnostic value of fetal MRI following expert ultrasound in suspected fetal brain abnormalities. Diagnostic accuracy increased from 68% with ultrasound alone to 93% when in utero MRI was added. This experience shaped her commitment to establishing a dedicated fetal MRI pathway in Dubai. Professor Ayman Ismail Kamel, MBBCh, MSc, MD, FRCR, is Professor of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at Cairo University and Head of Radiology at Al Zahra Hospital Dubai. A Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists, London, he brings more than 30 years of radiological expertise and provides senior leadership to the integrated fetal MRI service. Dr Karim Azzam brings more than 11 years of experience in fetal anomaly imaging, beginning with specialist training and published research at the Fetal Medicine Unit at Cairo University. He has since developed extensive fetal imaging experience across the Middle East, particularly in the UAE. At Al Zahra Hospital Dubai, the fetal MRI expertise of Professor Kamel and Dr Azzam has been further strengthened through ongoing collaborative discussions of complex fetal cases with specialists at Texas Children’s Hospital. Patients can usually undergo fetal MRI and receive a completed specialist report within 72 hours. This rapid pathway enables timely counselling, further investigations and coordinated planning for the remainder of the pregnancy, delivery and neonatal care. Fetal MRI does not replace expert fetal ultrasound. It is a complementary examination performed when additional anatomical detail is required to clarify a suspected abnormality, assess its extent or guide clinical management. It does not use ionising radiation and is normally performed without contrast. Its greatest established value is in the assessment of suspected fetal brain abnormalities, including ventriculomegaly, abnormalities of the corpus callosum and posterior fossa, cortical malformations, intracranial haemorrhage, congenital infection and neural tube defects. It can also provide valuable additional information about the fetal chest, abdomen, pelvis, head and neck, placenta and complex multisystem conditions, particularly when ultrasound imaging is limited. The findings may influence prognostic counselling, genetic and infectious investigations, antenatal surveillance, assessment for fetal therapy, timing and place of delivery, neonatal resuscitation, paediatric surgery, postnatal imaging and parental preparation. By bringing together maternal fetal medicine, specialist radiology, neonatology, paediatric surgery and other relevant disciplines, Al Zahra Hospital Dubai provides more than an MRI scan. It offers families a comprehensive pathway from advanced prenatal diagnosis to individualised counselling and coordinated perinatal care.