Deep learning approach for screening neonatal cerebral lesions on ultrasound in China

Abstract Timely and accurate diagnosis of severe neonatal cerebral lesions is critical for preventing long-term neurological damage and addressing life-threatening conditions. Cranial ultrasound is the primary screening tool, but the process is time-consuming and reliant on operator’s proficiency. I...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhouqin Lin, Haoming Zhang, Xingxing Duan, Yan Bai, Jian Wang, Qianhong Liang, Jingran Zhou, Fusui Xie, Zhen Shentu, Ruobing Huang, Yayan Chen, Hongkui Yu, Zongjie Weng, Dong Ni, Lei Liu, Luyao Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-08-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63096-9
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Summary:Abstract Timely and accurate diagnosis of severe neonatal cerebral lesions is critical for preventing long-term neurological damage and addressing life-threatening conditions. Cranial ultrasound is the primary screening tool, but the process is time-consuming and reliant on operator’s proficiency. In this study, a deep-learning powered neonatal cerebral lesions screening system capable of automatically extracting standard views from cranial ultrasound videos and identifying cases with severe cerebral lesions is developed based on 8,757 neonatal cranial ultrasound images. The system demonstrates an area under the curve of 0.982 and 0.944, with sensitivities of 0.875 and 0.962 on internal and external video datasets, respectively. Furthermore, the system outperforms junior radiologists and performs on par with mid-level radiologists, with 55.11% faster examination efficiency. In conclusion, the developed system can automatically extract standard views and make correct diagnosis with efficiency from cranial ultrasound videos and might be useful to deploy in multiple application scenarios.
ISSN:2041-1723