Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40419983›Full record

ArticleBMC medical imaging2025

Detecting microcephaly and macrocephaly from ultrasound images using artificial intelligence.

Abraham Keffale Mengistu, Bayou Tilahun Assaye, Addisu Baye Flatie, Zewdie Mossie

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical imaging, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Abraham Keffale MengistuDepartment of Health Informatics, College of Medicine Health Science, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia. abreham_keffale@dmu.edu.et.
Bayou Tilahun AssayeDepartment of Health Informatics, College of Medicine Health Science, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia.
Addisu Baye FlatieDepartment of Health Informatics, College of Medicine Health Science, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia.
Zewdie MossieDepartment of Information Technology, Institute of Technology, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMicrocephaly and macrocephaly, which are abnormal congenital markers, are associated with developmental and neurologic deficits. Hence, there is a medically imperative need to conduct ultrasound imaging early on. However, resource-limited countries such as Ethiopia are confronted with inadequacies such that access to trained personnel and diagnostic machines inhibits the exact and continuous diagnosis from being met.

objectiveThis study aims to develop a fetal head abnormality detection model from ultrasound images via deep learning.

methodsData were collected from three Ethiopian healthcare facilities to increase model generalizability. The recruitment period for this study started on November 9, 2024, and ended on November 30, 2024. Several preprocessing techniques have been performed, such as augmentation, noise reduction, and normalization. SegNet, UNet, FCN, MobileNetV2, and EfficientNet-B0 were applied to segment and measure fetal head structures using ultrasound images. The measurements were classified as microcephaly, macrocephaly, or normal using WHO guidelines for gestational age, and then the model performance was compared with that of existing industry experts. The metrics used for evaluation included accuracy, precision, recall, the F1 score, and the Dice coefficient.

resultsThis study was able to demonstrate the feasibility of using SegNet for automatic segmentation, measurement of abnormalities of the fetal head, and classification of macrocephaly and microcephaly, with an accuracy of 98% and a Dice coefficient of 0.97. Compared with industry experts, the model achieved accuracies of 92.5% and 91.2% for the BPD and HC measurements, respectively.

conclusionDeep learning models can enhance prenatal diagnosis workflows, especially in resource-constrained settings. Future work needs to be done on optimizing model performance, trying complex models, and expanding datasets to improve generalizability. If these technologies are adopted, they can be used in prenatal care delivery. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.

Indexed as

Artificial IntelligenceDeep LearningMegalencephalyMicrocephalyUltrasonography, PrenatalEthiopiaFemaleHumansPregnancyBPDCongenital abnormalityHCMacrocephalyMicrocephaly

Identifiers

PMID40419983
PMCPMC12105205

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.