India's First AI Model for Fetal Age Estimation Created

For the first time, scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras have created an Artificial Intelligence (AI) model tailored to the Indian population. This model accurately gauges the age of a fetus during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Development and external validation of Indian population-specific Garbhini-GA2 model for estimating gestational age in second and third trimesters

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AI Model for Gestational Age Estimation Developed

It is “the first late-trimester gestational age estimation model to be developed and validated using Indian population data”, they noted in the study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia. The new model can also improve the care delivered by obstetricians and neonatologists, thus reducing maternal and infant mortality rates in India. The research is also part of ‘Interdisciplinary Group for Advanced Research on Birth Outcomes -- DBT India Initiative’ (GARBH-Ini) programme.

“GARBH-Ini is a flagship programme of DBT, and the development of these population-specific models for estimating gestational age is a commendable outcome. These models are being validated across the country,” said Dr. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, in a statement.

“IIT Madras has been contributing towards solving healthcare problems at the grassroots and local level with the aim of enhancing public health in India. To this end, we are utilizing advanced data science and AI/ML techniques to build tools to predict unfavorable birth outcomes. The first step towards this is to develop accurate GA models that perform significantly better than currently used models designed using Western populations,” added Dr Himanshu Sinha, a Coordinator at the Center for Integrative Biology and Systems Medicine, IIT Madras, and who led the data science work for this research.

Garbhini-GA2 used three routinely measured fetal ultrasound parameters, and was developed using GARBH-Ini cohort data documented at Gurugram Civil Hospital, Haryana, and was validated in an independent cohort in South India. Once validated in prospective pan-India cohorts, this Garbhini-GA2 can be deployed in clinics across India, improving the care delivered by obstetricians and neonatologists, thus reducing maternal and infant mortality rates in India, the researchers said. “Improving the gestational age accuracy is a critical component of the broader goals of the GARBH-Ini study, which aims to reduce the adverse pregnancy outcomes,” said Dr Shinjini Bhatnagar, Principal Investigator of the GARBH-Ini programme and a Distinguished Professor, at THSTI.

Reference:

1. Development and external validation of Indian population-specific Garbhini-GA2 model for estimating gestational age in second and third trimesters - (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lansea/article/PIIS2772-3682(24)00012-X/fulltext)

Source-IANS