AI-Powered App Guides Obstetric Care in Low-Resource Areas
A new AI-powered mobile app, SmartScan Maternal Assistant, has been developed to provide real-time guidance for obstetric care, specifically addressing sonographer shortages in low-resource settings. The innovation comes as the broader maternal care market is being reshaped by disruptors like AI-driven triage, virtual care, and wearables.
- A recent study in *JAMA* found that healthcare workers with minimal training could use an AI-enabled portable ultrasound to estimate gestational age as accurately as expert sonographers. The study, which used the Butterfly iQ+ handheld device, demonstrated equivalence to high-end machines in pregnancies between 14 and 37 weeks. - The global shortage of midwives is estimated at nearly one million, a gap that universal access to midwife-led care could significantly impact by potentially preventing two-thirds of maternal and newborn deaths. More than 90% of this shortage is concentrated in low- and middle-income countries, with the most severe deficits in Africa and the eastern Mediterranean. - The demand for sonographers is projected to grow 10% between 2021 and 2031, significantly outpacing the average for most occupations. This shortage is exacerbated by a 55.1% surge in ultrasound exams from 2011 to 2021, while the number of sonography graduates only increased by 23%. - In Virginia, recent legislation (HB 1904) that took effect in July 2025 allows Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs) to fulfill 24-hour on-call duties for newborn nursery care when a physician is unavailable, a move aimed at addressing staffing shortages in rural hospitals. - As of July 2025, Virginia law also grants CNMs who have completed 1,000 hours of supervised clinical experience the authority to practice independently without a collaborative agreement with a physician. - Beyond diagnostics, AI is being integrated with wearable devices to provide continuous, real-time monitoring of maternal and fetal vital signs, such as heart rate and blood pressure, to enable early detection of complications like preeclampsia. The market for pregnancy-related wearable devices is projected to reach over $121 billion by 2035. - AI applications in obstetric ultrasound extend to various specialized areas, including fetal echocardiography, assessing the fetal brain, and identifying the placenta, improving the efficiency and accuracy of detecting potential abnormalities.
