IIT-M develops India-specific AI model to determine age of foetus

CHENNAI: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) and Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, as part of 'Interdisciplinary Group for Advanced Research on Birth Outcomes – DBT India Initiative' (GARBH-Ini) program, have developed the first India-specific Artificial Intelligence (AI) model to determine the age of a foetus in a pregnant woman in the second and third trimesters precisely.

"Accurate 'Gestational Age' (GA) is necessary for the appropriate care of pregnant women and for determining precise delivery dates. Called 'Garbhini-GA2', this is the first late-trimester GA estimation model to be developed and validated using Indian population data, " said a release from IIT-Madras.

"Currently, the age of a foetus ('Gestational Age' or GA) is determined using a formula developed for the Western population. They are likely to be erroneous when applied in the later part of pregnancy due to variations in the growth of the foetus in the Indian population. The newly developed 'Garbhini-GA2' accurately estimates the age of a foetus for the Indian population, reducing error by almost three times. This GA model can improve the care delivered by obstetricians and neonatologists, thus reducing maternal and infant mortality rates in India," it detailed.

Welcoming the research initiative, Rajesh Gokhale, secretary to the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India said the GARBH-ini is a flagship programme of DBT, and the development of these population-specific models for estimating gestational age is a commendable outcome and these models are being validated across the country.