The funding goes toward accelerating the global adoption of AI algorithms on the Philips Lumify handheld ultrasound system.
Philips’ system utilizes AI to simplify key measurements to identify abnormalities during pregnancy. This can reduce training time to use the ultrasound system from weeks to hours. The company said that expands the pool of frontline health workers who can learn to use the technology and integrate it into routine care.
In 2021, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provided its first phase of grant funding. Philips said it’s seen a positive impact in Kenya, where the technology helped to triage pregnant women in rural, underserved communities. The latest funding phase supports the tool’s deployment in underserved communities globally.
According to Philips, new AI algorithms make Lumify the first POCUS device introduced commercially to assist non-expert users by automating image acquisition or image interpretation for a comprehensive set of obstetrics measurements, increasing quality access to early fetal ultrasound scans.
“One of our key areas of focus is to build partnerships that bring together resources, expertise, and vision – working with organizations around the world to identify issues, find answers, and drive change,” said Dr. Rasa Izadnegahdar, director, maternal, newborn and child health discovery & tools at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “A critical goal of our work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is to bring health technology to underserved areas of the world to help prevent women from dying in childbirth – an issue that is critical in high-income countries like the U.S. and UK as well.”
More on this Philips technology and its work in underserved communities
Philips says its tool’s digitalization, informatics and AI eliminate the need for operator interpretation of the images. In Kenya, it trimmed weeks of training for midwives down to hours. The company says it achieved this without negatively affecting confidence in triage.
According to Philips, expectant moms find it comforting to know how their baby progresses, too. Depending on results, patients can go to a credentialed sonographer for image review and further investigation.
Philips GM for Point of Care and Obstetric Ultrasound, Matthijs Groot Wassink, called the ultrasound tool “disruptive technology.” He said it introduces a new way of ultrasound scanning, helping to increase confidence and comfort in any decisions or care pathways.
Other point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) technology developers, like Butterfly Network, have similar ongoing programs. The company recently deployed handheld ultrasound tools in Ukraine and has a program in Kenya as well.
“Ultrasound is the first tool of choice to scan pregnant women, but it also requires training to understand how to scan properly and correctly in order to make the right image interpretations,” said Jeff Cohen, GM of Ultrasound at Philips. “By supporting front-line healthcare workers such as midwives to identify potential problems in pregnancy at an early stage, we aim to significantly reduce the number of women who die because of pregnancy. During this next phase, working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we will bring this innovation as a commercial offering to the market to help increase quality access to care and improve maternal health in underserved and rural communities in developed and developing countries worldwide.”
