Deep learning approach for screening neonatal cerebral lesions on ultrasound in China
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.
Authors
- Xingxing Duan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4094-5127)
- Luyao Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1828-0878)
- Yayan Chen
- Dong Ni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9146-6003)
- Fusui Xie
- Yan Bai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5046-8125)
- Jian Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1962-0341)
- Zongtong Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7059-6899)
- Hongkui Yu
- Lei Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6265-9412)
- Haoming Zhang
- Jingran Zhou
- Ruobing Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5672-6896)
- Zongjie Weng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6075-8778)
- Qianhong Liang
- Zhen Shentu
Institutions
- Fujian Medical University (CN)
- Shenzhen University (CN)
- University Town of Shenzhen (CN)
- Shantou University (CN)
- Panyu Hospital of Chinese Medicine (CN)
- Chengdu Women's and Children's Central Hospital (CN)
- Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital (CN)
- Guangzhou Women and Children Medical Center (CN)
- Shantou University Medical College (CN)
- Fuzhou Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital (CN)
- Shenzhen Bao'an District People's Hospital (CN)
- Changsha Hospital for Maternal and Child Health Care (CN)
- Shenzhen University Health Science Center (CN)
- Shenzhen Technology University (CN)
- Shenzhen Children's Hospital (CN)
- Nanjing Medical University (CN)
- Guangzhou Medical University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-08-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63096-9
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Fetal and Pediatric Neurological Disorders
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.49
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China