Obstetricians at Mount Sinai were the first in New York City to use an artificial intelligence tool that can lead to early detection of congenital heart defects in fetuses.
Doctors in the Raquel and Jaime Gilinski Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Mount Sinai used an AI tool that enhances ultrasounds on a large scale, resulting in earlier detection of illnesses and better care for babies.
Why It Matters
Congenital heart defects are conditions present at birth that affect the structure of the heart. They are one of the most common birth abnormalities, impacting about 1 in 500 newborns.
Heart defects impact nearly one percent of births per year in the U.S. and can range in severity and complexity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One in four babies born with heart defects has a critical condition and generally requires surgery or other procedures in their first year of life.
What To Know
Doctors at Carnegie Imaging for Women, a leading OB-GYN imaging center affiliated with Mount Sinai West, are the first in the city to use the AI software from BrightHeart, which is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The tool makes ultrasounds more accurate and efficient, the health system said.
Carnegie Imaging for Women has three Manhattan locations and specializes in 3D and 4D ultrasound scans and fetal diagnostics.
A recent study, led by doctors at Mount Sinai West, found that the AI technology improved their detection rates of ultrasound findings that were suspected of major congenital heart defects by more than 97 percent. There was also an 18 percent reduction in reading time and a 19 percent improvement in confidence scores.
Dr. Jennifer Lam-Rachlin, an assistant clinical professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and corresponding author of the study, said in a statement that AI assistance in prenatal diagnostics offers improved detection and has the potential to offer significant improvement in workflow and efficiency benefits.
“We, as clinicians, should embrace innovation and technology that is available in order to maximize quality patient care,” she said. “This technology allows for ‘leveling’ of the field of prenatal diagnosis to offer close-to-expert-level review of fetal ultrasounds, particularly in centers or geographical locations without fetal heart experts.”
In the study, which was funded by BrightHeart, researchers examined a set of 200 fetal ultrasound examinations between 18 and 24 weeks of gestation from 11 medical centers across two countries.
The goal was to evaluate the association between the use of AI-based software and reader performance when identifying second-trimester ultrasound examinations that are suspicious for severe congenital heart defects.
As a result, AI-assisted interpretation was associated with improved detection of lesions suspicious for severe congenital heart defects. Mount Sinai said the study “demonstrated the ability of AI-based software to improve the detection of these suspicious findings via prenatal ultrasonography, as well as the overall confidence and time efficiency in interpreting these scans.”
What People Are Saying
Dr. Andrei Rebarber, a co-author of the study and the director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Mount Sinai West, said in a statement: “Our study should prompt and encourage future research into AI-assisted software’s ability to improve detection rates, once integrated into clinical workflows, to reduce the variability and inequity of detection of congenital heart defects globally. The future for prenatal diagnostic imaging is bright when AI software is employed as an adjunct to physician interpretation.”
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