FetalBio-AI: Novel AI-based Software for Fetal Biometry Estimation

Fetal development during pregnancy is a highly intricate biological process that requires continuous monitoring to ensure the health of both the mother and fetus. Ultrasound imaging has become the gold standard in obstetric care due to its non-invasive nature, ability to provide real-time images, and widespread accessibility. One of the primary applications of ultrasound in prenatal care is fetal biometry, which involves measuring key anatomical parameters such as head circumference (HC), biparietal diameter (BPD), and occipitofrontal diameter (OFD). The current process of fetal biometry is often performed manually, which can introduce inaccuracies due to the subjectivity of different observers and the time-consuming nature of the procedure. To address these challenges, this study introduces FetalBio-AI, an innovative AI-based software designed to automate the estimation of fetal head biometry from ultrasound images. By integrating a user-friendly interface and a U-Net model for image segmentation, FetalBio-AI accurately detects the fetal head and computes key biometric parameters, including BPD, OFD, and HC. In addition to automating these measurements, FetalBio-AI integrates maternal and fetal clinical data. The software was validated using the open-access HC18 Grand Challenge dataset, which includes 999 annotated 2D ultrasound images. The results demonstrated a strong correlation between the software’s predictions and manual annotations (Pearson’s correlation > 0.99), with minimal differences in head circumference measurements (mean difference of -0.2 mm). These findings confirm the high accuracy of FetalBio-AI, which provides automated fetal biometry with precision comparable to expert sonographers. Future studies will expand the software, including additional fetal biometric measurements, such as abdominal circumference and femur length, and further assess its performance across diverse clinical populations. The availability of FetalBio-AI on GitHub ensures that it is accessible to the research community, promoting collaboration and ongoing improvement of AI-driven solutions in obstetric care.