Suboptimal Image Quality Can Delay and Impact Diagnosis: Sources

Sources

Last updated: June 2026

Poor image quality is linked to 49% of missed fetal anomaly cases

1.  FDA Clears Sonio Suspect AI for Fetal Anomaly Detection  (2025)

Poor image quality has been linked to 49% of missed fetal anomaly cases, and misinterpretation to 31%. Data cited in the context of FDA clearance for an AI fetal anomaly detection system.

Citation: Contemporary OB/GYN, 2025

Link: https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/fda-clears-sonio-suspect-ai-for-fetal-anomaly-detection

Maternal body habitus, fetal position, and bone shadowing degrade image quality

2.  Effect of Increased Maternal Body Habitus on Image Quality and Fetal Anomaly Detection  (2019)

Suboptimal ultrasound visualisation increases with larger maternal body habitus, resulting in incomplete scans, repeat examinations, and misdiagnosis of fetal anomalies at the 18–20 week morphology scan.

Citation: Hennig et al. — Sonography (Wiley), 2019

Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/sono.12202

3.  Enhancing Fetal Anomaly Detection in Ultrasonography Images: A Review of ML-Based Approaches  (2023)

Image quality can be impaired by maternal body environment, fetal position, bone shadowing, and low amniotic fluid volume. Poor image quality and lack of discrete edges in ultrasound frames can lead to inaccurate prenatal diagnosis.

Citation: Abdelrahim et al. — MDPI Biomimetics, November 2023

Link: https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/8/7/519

Sonographer skill and experience vary across care settings

4.  Prenatal Diagnosis of Congenital Anomalies  (2011)

Sensitivity for detectable fetal malformations was 35% at tertiary facilities compared to 13% at community hospitals, indicating that operator experience, skills, and training are key determinants of detection outcomes.

Citation: PMC / NIH — Todros et al.

Link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3232499/

5.  The Fetal Anomaly Screening Scan: An International Perspective  (2024)

Overall detection rates for major structural malformations range from 15% to over 90% depending on care setting and scanning protocol, with sonographer training and operator experience identified as key variables.

Citation: ScienceDirect — Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, May 2024

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1751721424000782

6.  Impact of First-Trimester Ultrasound on Early Detection of Major Fetal Anomalies  (2025)

A nationwide study of over 1 million pregnancies in England found substantial variation in anomaly screening across care settings — 100% first-trimester anatomy assessment at tertiary centres vs 69% at district general hospitals, reflecting differences in operator skill and protocol adherence.

Citation: PLOS Medicine, November 2025

Link: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004709