IIT Madras and THSTI developed an India-specific AI model for Fetus age

As part of the 'Interdisciplinary Group for Advanced Research on Birth Outcomes – DBT India Initiative' (GARBH-Ini) program, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) and the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) in Faridabad have created the inaugural India-specific Artificial Intelligence (AI) model. This model accurately gauges the gestational age of a fetus during the second and third trimesters in pregnant women.

The existing method for determining the gestational age (GA) of a fetus relies on a formula tailored to the Western population. However, applying this formula in later stages of pregnancy for the Indian population can lead to inaccuracies due to differences in fetal growth patterns. The newly introduced 'Garbhini-GA2' model provides a precise estimation of fetal age specifically for the Indian demographic, reducing errors by nearly threefold. This advancement in GA estimation holds the potential to enhance the quality of care provided by obstetricians and neonatologists, ultimately contributing to the reduction of maternal and infant mortality rates in India.

Welcoming this research, Dr. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, said, "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".

Dr. Himanshu Sinha, an Associate Professor at the Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras, along with Dr. Shinjini Bhatnagar, who serves as the Principal Investigator of the GARBH-Ini program and holds a distinguished professorship at the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), spearheaded this research. Other researchers also contributed to this study.