Expecting Parents May Soon Have Improved Ultrasounds Access

Imagine a world where soon-to-be parents can see their developing fetus in utero anytime, anywhere.

Northwestern Medicine and Google have teamed up to try to make fetal ultrasound cheaper, portable, and accessible to all expecting parents around the world.

They have recruited thousands to help them, including Lauren Ratliff. She got a tutorial on using an ultrasound device connected to a tablet on her pregnant belly.

“I was able to move up and down, see a lot of the baby,” she said. “It was quick and really easy.”

Researchers hope to use videos from “do-it-yourself” ultrasounds to create a form of artificial intelligence that can determine fetal age, position, and even life-threatening conditions…without the need for a trained technician or a typical ultrasound machine. Those are often too pricey for clinics in developing countries. Researchers hope the ultrasound device and tablet will cost about $1000.

The World Health Organization recommends an ultrasound before 24 weeks of pregnancy but up to half of all birthing parents in developing countries are not screened.

About 300,000 women and 2.5 million babies die during pregnancy or after childbirth with 94 percent occurring in low and middle-income countries. An ultrasound could be a gamechanger.

Dr. Amber Watters from Northwestern Medicine explains, “In some low and middle-income countries, we know that, for example, just differentiating a pregnancy inside the uterus from one outside the uterus is a really important early use of ultrasound.”

Ratliff also believes ultrasound access helps parents connect with their babies. “It made me less anxious about the pregnancy,” she said. “It’s made me more excited.”