Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 78 of the Women’s Health Strategy for England, published in August 2022, following the analysis of the call for evidence written evidence submission, what steps his Department has taken to encourage research on the effectiveness of AI technologies to help predict which pregnancies will develop life-threatening foetal growth restriction.

The Department is funding research projects on artificial intelligence (AI) technologies which can address complications in pregnancy through the Artificial Intelligence in Health and Care Award. This includes projects by the University of Oxford to develop fully automated ultrasound tools to screen for foetal growth restriction in the first trimester by analysing the size of the placenta. In addition, we have recently announced we will fund the University of Bristol to trial a clinical decision tool to reduce placental disorders in pregnancy in National Health Service trusts.