AI-Assisted Pregnancy Scans Detect Foetal Abnormalities Twice as Fast, Reveals Study

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

Artificial Intelligence (AI) could significantly speed up the 20-week pregnancy screening scan, reveals a recent study. 

Reportedly, the AI tool helps sonographers identify abnormalities almost twice as quickly while maintaining diagnostic accuracy and reliability.

The results, published in NEJM AI, demonstrated that AI-assisted scans were over 40% shorter than traditional scans, highlighting their efficiency.

For many expectant parents, the 20-week scan can be an anxiety-inducing experience as sonographers assess for 11 different conditions, including heart defects and spina bifida.

Further, the AI tool allowed sonographers to work more swiftly without pausing, saving images, or manually taking measurements during the scan.

Led by King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, this trial is the first to implement AI in real-world 20-week pregnancy screenings.

The trial involved 78 pregnant participants and 58 sonographers. Each participant underwent two scans—one using AI-assisted technology and another without AI.

Findings indicate that AI-assisted scans were more reliable. They automatically captured several thousand snapshots per fetal measurement compared to three manually taken by a sonographer.

This could enhance the accuracy of fetal assessments and enable earlier medical decisions to improve newborn health outcomes.

One of the trial participants, Ashleigh Louison, had her pregnancy scanned using the AI tool, leading to an early diagnosis of heart disease in her son Lennox.

This allowed doctors at St Thomas’ and Evelina London Children’s Hospital to plan immediate medical intervention, including lifesaving surgery within two weeks of birth.

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

Developed as part of the MedTech Venture Builder program at The London Institute for Healthcare Engineering, Fraiya aims to create AI-powered tools for pregnancy ultrasound to enhance medical diagnoses, support healthcare professionals, and improve patient care.

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