Detecting congenital heart defects in a fetus enables prompt treatment and significantly improves the baby’s chances of a better outcome. In Poland, diagnostic effectiveness is steadily improving, and artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to further assist doctors in this effort. However, too few prenatal tests, such as fetal echocardiography, are still being conducted.
“Congenital heart defects pose a major challenge in prenatal diagnostics. The global average detection rate is around 40 percent, which is highly unsatisfactory. This rate varies depending on the country and its educational system. For instance, hypoplastic left heart syndrome—a defect relatively easy to spot—has a detection rate of about 98 percent in the Rhône region of France, while in Slovakia, the same condition is detected in only about 25 percent of cases. Poland is a country where this detection rate is on the rise,” says Dr. hab. n. med. Marcin Wiecheć from the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Jagiellonian University Collegium Medicum and Chairman of the Ultrasonography Section of the Polish Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics, in an interview with the Newseria agency.
Improvements in Poland’s prenatal diagnostic effectiveness are evident in data reported to the European EUROCAT registry. For a severe condition like transposition of the great arteries, Poland’s detection rate was 36 percent 20 years ago. Recent updates show it has risen to 66 percent. According to experts, surpassing 70 percent would be a significant achievement, with the ultimate goal being over 90 percent. New technologies undoubtedly play a key role in boosting diagnostic accuracy, with significant hopes pinned on AI algorithms aiding doctors in interpreting test results.
“We’ve recently been involved in an AI project aimed at creating a digital assistant for examining doctors, especially frontline physicians, who face the greatest challenges in identifying signs suggestive of congenital heart defects. A virtual assistant in the form of an AI algorithm can provide substantial support, and that’s what we’re working on,” emphasizes Professor Marcin Wiecheć.
According to Mordor Intelligence, the market for AI-based medical imaging is expected to generate revenues of $7.52 billion in 2025, growing to over $26 billion by 2030. The Serce Dziecka Foundation, through its InteliCardio program, conducts training sessions to help healthcare professionals enhance their skills in leveraging AI systems to improve the diagnosis of congenital heart defects. Identifying these conditions prenatally allows for interventions even before the baby is born.
“Prenatal cardiology is a broad, interdisciplinary field. On one hand, it involves gynecologists and obstetricians specializing in prenatal diagnostics, who collaborate closely with pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery centers. On the other hand, it includes pediatric cardiologists. Tests are performed by perinatologists and clinical geneticists. This branch connects multiple specialties and aspects related to congenital heart defects. Poland is a leader in this field, with 14 experts supporting nationwide care for fetuses suspected of or diagnosed with heart defects. This model continues to evolve, and there are increasingly more frontline centers experienced in so-called cardiac screening,” notes the Jagiellonian University expert.
He adds that fetal echocardiography, a critical test for detecting congenital defects, is still performed too infrequently in Poland. At the same time, a growing number of doctors advocate for this test to be conducted routinely for pregnant women—not just in cases of general or internal diseases, assisted reproductive treatments, or abnormalities in screening tests.
“The indications for fetal echocardiography are expanding. The latest international standards from ISUOG (The International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology) suggest lowering the threshold for detecting more defects. The more pregnant women understand the importance of fetal echocardiography, the better we’ll be at detecting issues and providing superior cardiological and cardiac surgical care to our patients—and, above all, their children—when needed,” says Professor Wiecheć.
He highlights that Poland boasts an excellent cadre of pediatric cardiologists and cardiac surgeons who, though relatively few in number, rank among Europe’s best.
“The number of children born with congenital defects provides opportunities for advancements in both pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery. Surgical techniques are evolving. While there are cases where cardiac surgery capacity is stretched, in most instances of congenital heart defects—such as ventricular or atrial septal defects—surgeons can effectively close these openings if the technical conditions allow,” the expert explains. “Sometimes, the issue lies within the heart muscle itself, leaving cardiac surgery powerless. However, our collaborating cardiac surgeons tell us that many defects are now treatable, and we see very positive outcomes from these therapeutic approaches. We continuously monitor our patients’ progress, made possible by the National Registry of Fetal Cardiac Pathologies.”
