A newly developed tool that harnesses computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI) may help clinicians rapidly evaluate placentas at birth, potentially improving neonatal and maternal care, according to new research from scientists at Northwestern Medicine and Penn State.

The study, which is published in the journal Patterns and featured on the cover, describes a computer program named PlacentaVision that can analyze a simple photograph of the placenta to detect abnormalities associated with infection and neonatal sepsis, a life-threatening condition that affects millions of newborns globally.

Placenta is one of the most common specimens that we see in the lab, said study co-author Dr. Jeffery Goldstein, director of perinatal pathology and an associate professor of pathology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. When the neonatal intensive care unit is treating a sick kid, even a few minutes can make a difference in medical decision making. With a diagnosis from these photographs, we can have an answer days earlier than we would in our normal process.

The placenta plays a vital role in the health of both the pregnant individual and baby during pregnancy, yet it is often not thoroughly examined at birth, especially in areas with limited medical resources.

This research could save lives and improve health outcomes, said Yimu Pan, a doctoral candidate in the informatics program from the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) and lead author on the study. It could make placental examination more accessible, benefitting research and care for future pregnancies, especially for mothers and babies at higher risk of complications.

Early identification of placental infection through tools like PlacentaVision might enable clinicians to take prompt actions, such as administering antibiotics to the mother or baby and closely monitoring the newborn for signs of infection, the scientists said.

The researchers plan to make the tool even smarter by including more types of placental features and adding clinical data to improve predictions while also contributing to research on long-term health. They'll also test the tool in different hospitals to ensure it works in a variety of settings.

This tool has the potential to transform how placentas are examined after birth, especially in parts of the world where these exams are rarely done, Gernand said. This innovation promises greater accessibility in both low- and high-resource settings. With further refinement, it has the potential to transform neonatal and maternal care by enabling early, personalized interventions that prevent severe health outcomes and improve the lives of mothers and infants worldwide.

Source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-12-ai-tool-placentas-birth-faster.html