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Advances in Medical Technology Are Improving Prenatal Care for Everyone
However, of the prevalent screening methods and advanced ultrasound technologies, availability in remote areas continues to become a huge challenge, along with the cost and the quality of screenings required to arrive at proper results.
These diseases significantly impact families emotionally, economically, and psychologically, particularly in rural areas where health care is not as accessible.
The Ultra Clinic’s Asansol Scenario: Promises of Technology :
Late diagnosis causes panic and rushed decisions about the termination of pregnancy. Ideal identification of critical defects such as cardiac issues, central nervous system defects, or limb anomalies should occur between 12 and 13 weeks of gestation.
Until recently, the challenge of early detection of these anomalies was compounded further by the scarcity of specialists in fetal ultrasounds. Thankfully though, India soon is going to become the hub for fetal health assessment in all of Asia, mainly because of high-quality ultrasound services and a burgeoning pool of skilled specialists.
As the city coming straight out from the Thalassemia endemic region, Asansol puts forth the possibility of technology-enabled better health outcomes. Many young couples in this area are carriers of Thalassemia, which portends a high-risk situation for the people in terms of prenatal care.
Upon conception, if these couples do not get any prenatal testing for Thalassemia, then there are very serious blood shortages on many occasions, which complicate the management of required monthly transfusions.
Since the Ultra Clinic came into existence in March 2017 as an ultrasonic scanning centre exclusively for prenatal and antenatal scanning, the prenatal care has improved significantly in this region.
Earlier, the quality of the fetal ultrasound service was quite weak and did not help the patients identify defects. The clinic relieved the patients from traveling all the way to Kolkata for routine health issues.
What’s more, the presence of this center positively affected the rate of diagnoses of Thalassemia carriers in the community. It also has annual educational programs for healthcare professionals that stress routine thalassemia screening during pregnancy.
After carrier screening, patients can then undergo more invasive testing at 12 weeks gestation to determine whether the fetus has Thalassemia major. This is most welcome as compared to procedures earlier because earlier, it meant traveling for such investigations.
Patients always ask how mature the baby is and if everything appears normal at the ultrasound screening. While a routine ultrasound can serve as a rough estimate for calculating gestational age, other, more high-tech equipment, must be used to see problems appropriately. So, selecting a facility equipped with the most advanced equipment is most crucial to ensure that the right results are obtained.
Preparing for the Future :
Incidences of fetal anomalies are on the rise and mainly driven by environmental factors such as pollution, poor food choices, lack of exercises, and obesity. Other disease-related conditions include diabetes and hypertension that affect the health of the fetus.
Therefore, it is essential to have a proper scan and test during pregnancy to ensure the health of the baby. An early diagnosis would, at this point, provide couples with the chance to make adequate decisions concerning carrying a pregnancy within the 24-week MTP window.
Typically, the waiting period for producing results from genetic testing is usually between 2-4 weeks; therefore, a timely diagnosis must occur. Most of the anomalies identified by scans are curable and manageable; therefore, couples will be able to plan better for subsequent pregnancies.
Future Prospects: MedTech innovation and more accessible health care :
Recent MedTech innovations are advancing high-quality prenatal care, even to remote locations, thus minimizing long-distance travel for essential healthcare services.
Implementing such sophisticated medical technologies ensures early diagnosis of critical fetal anomalies, thus making it possible for interventions to be offered well in time and improving health outcomes. Recent prenatal care innovations ensure quality, accessible services delivered by the healthcare providers.
Augment feature offers noise suppression and improves the depth penetration of the images to make visuals clearer and even in high BMI patients. Ultra HD captures very high-resolution images of the fetal brain and the early development, with axially and laterally increased resolution, which enables a complex anatomical view, even at times of extreme location between two borders.
The Radiant feature allows for elevation adjustment and improves border visualization, making it appear more three dimensional and assists in anatomy differentiation, such as the differentiation between the brain and fetal heart.
Adaptive IQ also ensures that the imaging systems could adapt to future technological changes to come with excellent image quality and flexibility.
From MedTech, it is possible to add a healthy layer of functionalities based on which high-quality, accessible healthcare for all can become possible. Working with technology, it bridges the gaps in access to healthcare.
Every pregnant woman deserves the best care both for her and her unborn child. But such commitments always lead to an improvement not only in the quality of services but also with better outcomes for families and communities.
