Chennai, Feb 26 (PTI) Researchers at the IIT Madras and Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, have developed the first India-specific Artificial Intelligence model to precisely determine the age of foetus in the second and third trimesters, the institute said on Monday.

Named ‘Garbhini-GA2,' this is the first late-trimester Gestational Age (GA) estimation model to be developed and validated using the Indian population data, as part of ‘Interdisciplinary Group for Advanced Research on Birth Outcomes – DBT India Initiative' (GARBH-Ini) programme, a release here said.

Also Read | Indian Navy Conducts Airborne Insertion Operations To Boost Anti-Piracy Efforts Over Arabian Sea (See Pics).

Accurate gestational age was necessary for the appropriate care of pregnant women and for determining precise delivery dates. This AI-based model reduces error by almost three times, the release said.

Currently, the age of a foetus is determined using a formula developed for the western population and it is likely to cause errors when applied in the later part of pregnancy due to variations in the growth of the foetus in the Indian population. "This GA model can improve the care delivered by obstetricians and neonatologists, thus reducing maternal and infant mortality rates in India," it said.

Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates Redevelopment Projects of 21 Railway Stations in Rajasthan Under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (Watch Video).

Welcoming this research, 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."

This research was undertaken by Himanshu Sinha, Associate Professor, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras, Shinjini Bhatnagar, the Principal Investigator of GARBH-Ini programme and a distinguished professor at THSTI and other researchers.

The findings were published in the prestigious international peer-reviewed journal Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia (DOI: 10.1016/j.lansea.2024.100362).

The researchers used genetic algorithm-based methods to develop Garbhini-GA2, which, when applied in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, was more accurate than the current Hadlock and recent INTERGROWTH-21st models. The Garbhini-GA2 model, compared to Hadlock, reduces the GA estimation median error by more than three times.

Application of Indian population-specific GA formulae with better accuracy can potentially improve pregnancy care, leading to better outcomes. This accurate dating will also enhance the precision of epidemiological estimates for pregnancy outcomes in the country, the release explained.

"Once validated in prospective pan-India cohorts, this Garbhini-GA2 can be deployed in clinics across India, improving the care delivered by obstetricians and neonatologists, thus reducing maternal and infant mortality rates in India," it said.

This study was conducted in partnership with Gurugram Civil Hospital, Gurugram, Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, Christian Medical College Vellore, and Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences.

Additional funding came from the Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBCDSAI), IIT Madras and the Centre for Integrative Biology and Systems Medicine (IBSE), IIT Madras.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)