Congenital heart defects (abnormalities of the heart that are present at birth) are the most common type of birth defect and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 4 babies born with a heart defect has a diagnosis that is severe enough to require surgery or other medical intervention within the first year of life. Despite advances in prenatal care, the detection rate of congenital heart defects during routine ultrasounds remains suboptimal. In a new study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy MeetingTM, researchers will unveil findings that suggest that AI can help clinicians better detect congenital heart defects on routine prenatal ultrasounds.
In the study, a group of physicians with experience ranging from one to 30+ years reviewed 200 ultrasounds. A total of 14 OB-GYNs and maternal-fetal medicine subspecialists reviewed each ultrasound, both with and without the use of an AI-based software program. The data were compared to determine whether the clinicians' ability to detect cases suspicious for congenital heart defects improved with the assistance of the software.
Regardless of a physician's years of experience or subspecialty training, results showed that the AI system significantly improved a clinician's ability to detect cases suspicious for congenital heart defects. Secondarily, results also found clinicians' confidence level in detecting congenital heart defects impr.