AI could help sonographers identify abnormalities in unborn babies more quickly – study

Artificial intelligence (AI) could help sonographers identify any abnormalities at the 20-week pregnancy screening scan almost twice as quickly, without reducing the accuracy or reliability of diagnoses, a new study has shown.

This will help improve patient care by allowing sonographers to focus on other aspects of the scan, such as communicating with parents or spending more time looking at any areas of concern.

The trial is the first of its kind to use AI for the 20-week pregnancy scan on real patients.

Results from the trial found that AI-assisted 20-week scans were significantly shorter than standard scans, reducing the scan length by over 40 per cent.

For many expectant parents, the 20-week pregnancy screening can be a worrying experience as sonographers are looking for signs of 11 different conditions in a baby, such as heart defects or spina bifida.

However, the extra time freed up by using the AI tool allows the sonographer more time to focus on the parents, which may help to ease anxieties.

Lead author Dr Thomas Day is a Clinical Research Fellow at King’s College London and a Consultant Paediatric and Foetal Cardiologist at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, part of Guy’s and St Thomas’.

The researcher said: “Understandably this 20-week scan can be a nerve-wracking time for parents, as they’re finding out the health of their unborn child.

“Our research has shown that AI-assisted scans are accurate, reliable and more efficient.

“We hope that using AI in these scans will free up precious time for sonographers to focus on patient care, making the experience more comfortable and reassuring for parents.”

The trial featured 78 pregnant participants and 58 sonographers.

Each pregnant participant was scanned twice, once using the AI-assisted scanner and once without the use of AI.

The study showed that the AI-assisted scans – which automatically took several thousand snapshots of each foetal measurement compared to three taken by a human sonographer – were more reliable compared to manual measurements.

This may improve the accuracy of assessing foetal growth and health, helping medical professionals make decisions earlier that could improve health outcomes for the baby.

The AI-tool alters the way in which the scan is performed, as sonographers no longer need to pause, save images, or measure during the scan, resulting in fewer interruptions and making the process smoother.

The AI tool is now being rolled out more widely through a company called Fraiya, which is a University-NHS spinout company from King’s College London, Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital.

The company’s goal is to create AI-powered tools for pregnancy ultrasound that improve medical diagnoses, help healthcare professionals, and enhance care for patients.

Fraiya has been developed as part of the MedTech Venture Builder programme at The London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE).

Professor Mike Lewis, NIHR Scientific Director, said: “Anything that improves the experience of expectant mothers, gives them reassurance and tailors the care they are offered by healthcare professionals can only be a good thing.

“The use of AI in healthcare has huge potential to impact patient care while saving time and money. This research is another great example of how NIHR works for the health and wealth of the nation.”