AI can make maternal ultrasound more accessible, accurate and efficient
Ultrasound is one of the most important developments in medicine. With the ability to view the fetus in the womb, doctors can now more accurately estimate gestational age, growth and weight of the fetus, diagnose numerous fetal abnormalities and make other advances in obstetrics.
None of these skills that people now take for granted would have been possible without ultrasound. This has dramatically improved pregnancy outcomes.
Now, artificial intelligence is emerging as another leap forward for maternal care — similar to the advent of ultrasound, said Dr. Yinka Oyelese, director of obstetric imaging at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
And the combination of these two innovations has limitless potential and promises to revolutionize the maternity care landscape, he says.
We interviewed Oyelese to discuss the combination of ultrasound and AI, and to learn more about his recent appointment to the scientific advisory board of Sonio, a femtech company using AI in ultrasound to improve maternal health care.
Q. How did ultrasound and artificial intelligence technologies come together? How do they fit properly?
A. Artificial intelligence and ultrasound have together transformed medical imaging, especially in maternal-fetal medicine (MFM). AI improves ultrasound technology by providing advanced image analysis, work automation and decision support tools. Given the complementary qualities of AI and ultrasound, their integration is a natural and logical progression.
Real-time imaging of the fetus is made possible through ultrasound, which provides important information about the health and development of the growing fetus. However, deciphering ultrasound images can be difficult and time-consuming; it requires training and experience.
This is where AI shines. AI systems can quickly analyze large amounts of ultrasound data, allowing medical professionals to identify abnormalities, measure fetal biometrics and make accurate diagnoses. Ultrasound becomes more effective, accurate and accessible through the use of AI, ultimately improving maternal care outcomes for patients.
Q. In what ways will AI help improve maternal ultrasound?
A. As an expert in MFM, I see many ways AI will transform maternal ultrasound. First, AI has become a routine part of what we do in our daily lives, significantly improving efficiency, reliability, accuracy and quality control in activities such as banking, immigration, radiology and aviation.
The ability to process massive amounts of data and for machines to learn over time is something we now often expect, and sometimes take for granted. For example, my access to my phone, banking and various other daily activities is based on facial recognition.
As time has gone by, my phone has learned to recognize my face even when I wear a mask, put on glasses, or grow a beard. The same exciting potential exists for AI in ultrasound. AI’s rapid automated analysis and image recognition capabilities dramatically accelerate and simplify accurate image capture in ultrasound.
Currently, performing a detailed scan is time-consuming and cumbersome, and is the rate-limiting step of ultrasound. The ability to accurately obtain the optimal image, even of a range of fetal structures, is a huge advance that can only make ultrasound more efficient and accurate.
AI’s ability to then correctly identify and interpret the structures will make the work of all sonographers, sonologists and physicians so much easier. The correct and reproducible identification of fetal structures by AI-powered ultrasound allows the sonographer to review his scans against the results of the AI, allowing sonographers to improve the quality of their examinations and improve their skills.
AI thus provides a powerful tool for improving ultrasound scan capabilities.
Furthermore, AI is a powerful tool for assessing quality and will lead to improvement of all ultrasound units. The ability to detect small patterns that can be missed by sonographers and physicians improves early intervention and increases diagnostic accuracy, all of which benefits patients.
AI-developed predictive models aid in risk assessment, allowing medical professionals to proactively manage high-risk pregnancies. Additionally, AI-powered decision support systems provide physicians with insightful guidance in providing individualized patient care.
Perhaps one of the most exciting applications of this technology will be in telemedicine, where the sonographer can remotely review and complete their scans with feedback from AI, rather than waiting for the doctor’s interpretation.
This allows the sonographer to present and report a complete and accurate scan to the physician, and has the potential to democratize ultrasound, making accurate and complete ultrasound examinations available to populations where this was not previously possible due to a lack of sufficient staff.
AI-powered simulations support instruction in education and ensure that future MFM professionals are proficient. AI is a powerful tool in quality assessment. The images acquired by ultrasound technicians and sonologists can be quickly reviewed by AI, leading to improvement in image acquisition by imagers.
Additionally, AI enables telemedicine, enabling remote consultations to provide maternal-fetal care in underserved locations. Finally, AI offers enormous opportunities for research, which will greatly improve the care pregnant mothers receive.
In summary, AI will make maternal ultrasound more accessible, accurate and efficient, which will completely change the landscape of maternal care and significantly improve outcomes, especially in settings where this was not previously possible.
Q. What recently made you decide to join AI ultrasound vendor Sonio’s scientific advisory board? What do you hope to achieve?
A. Sonio was founded by some of the world leaders in fetal imaging and AI, who have pioneered several developments in our field. My decision was driven by the Sonio team’s continued commitment to improving maternity care – an area I am passionate about and have dedicated much of my life to.
Sonio’s mission aligns with my lifelong commitment to using ultrasound technology to improve pregnancy outcomes. The potential of the combination of ultrasound and artificial intelligence technologies is extremely exciting and holds great promise for advancing medical care for pregnant women.
However, no technology is adequate without a vision to improve the well-being of our patients, and any technological advancement must be accessible and available to those who need it most, especially the most vulnerable. Sonio’s focus on making advanced yet easy-to-use ultrasound solutions widely accessible, especially in vulnerable communities, really appealed to me.
The Sonio team shares my goal of providing access to high-quality prenatal care worldwide. Sonio’s commitment to combining technology and clinical experience resonated strongly with me as an MFM specialist who has dedicated much of his life to ultrasound during pregnancy in ways that lead to better pregnancy outcomes.
It is clear to me that Sonio’s overarching goal is to radically transform prenatal care by providing previously unavailable advanced, yet simple and easy-to-use ultrasound solutions to healthcare providers around the world using artificial intelligence. By joining Sonio, I want to use my expertise to ensure that their technology achieves the highest standards of clinical accuracy and effectiveness.
Our shared goal is to reduce barriers to prenatal care worldwide and improve health outcomes for mothers and fetuses through innovative solutions. This collaboration represents an exciting and fulfilling opportunity to make a significant and transformative impact in the field of maternal-fetal medicine and for expectant mothers.
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