Accurate and reliable AI speeds up sonography

The trial is the first of its kind to use AI for the 20-week pregnancy scan on real patients, and is led by King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

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. The trial is detailed in NEJM AI, 

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

In a statement, Dr Thomas Day, lead author of the study, who is a Clinical Research Fellow at King’s College London and a Consultant Paediatric and Foetal Cardiologist at Evelina London Children's Hospital, 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.”