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A government-backed initiative in India is developing AI-powered tools targeting preterm births, a leading cause of neonatal death.
Recently, the GARBH-INi programme enrolled 12,000 pregnant women to build one of South Asia's largest pregnancy datasets.
Based on a media release, it generated more than 1.6 million biospecimens and over a million ultrasound images, serving as the data foundation for training AI models that support personalised risk prediction tailored to the Indian population.
WHY IT MATTERS
Dr Jitendra Singh, Science and Technology Minister of State, emphasised India's "significant share" of the global burden of preterm births, highlighting the need for locally developed solutions tailored to the local population.
Early outcomes of the GARBH-INi programme, he shared, include developing AI-based pregnancy dating models, microbiome-based predictors of preterm birth, rapid diagnostic tools, and genetic markers aimed at enabling earlier and more accurate risk assessment.
Meanwhile, the programme also established a national biorepository and a data sharing platform, GARBH-INi-DRISHTI, to support broader research access and collaboration, with findings contributing to global scientific publications.
Partnerships have also been formalised to translate research into clinical tools, including technology transfer of microbiome-based biotherapeutics to Sundyota Numandis Probioceuticals and agreements with women's health startup Doto Health and medical imaging AI company Qure.ai to develop AI-enabled ultrasound reporting and risk stratification systems.
The next phase of the GARBH-INi programme will focus on deploying and scaling the predictive models and platforms developed, with an emphasis on deeper analysis, collaboration, and real-world use to improve maternal and child health outcomes.
THE LARGER TREND
Over the years, the Indian government has worked to produce medical datasets that represent the diversity of the local population, helping accelerate the research and development of AI in healthcare. These include a national repository for life science data and a comprehensive cancer multi-omics database.
Meanwhile, last year, Doto Health entered into a strategic partnership with human development organisation FHI 360 to expand across Southeast Asia. It involves working with the Health Departments of Quang Tri in Vietnam and Savannakhet and Salavan in Laos to promote the adoption of digital health solutions in addressing challenges in maternal and infant mortality. Doto offers a range of AI-powered pregnancy care solutions that enable point-of-care diagnostics, remote monitoring, and data-driven decision-making.
