To evaluate the clinical value of smart fetus (SF) technique, which includes smart fetus distinguishment and acquirement (SFDA) technique and smart fetus measurement (SFM) technique.

One thousand and five normal single fetuses between 16 and 41 weeks were selected at Affiliated Shenzhen Maternity & Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University from August 2018 to January 2019. The standard sections, including transverse section of the thalamus (A), transverse section of the abdomen (B), and longitudinal section of the femur (C) were obtained and growth parameters, including biparietal diameter (BPD), head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), and femur length (FL) were measured by the SF and traditional technique, separately. Sixty fetuses were selected and measured for intra- and inter-observer repeatability analyses. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare the time required for section and parameter acquirement; intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated to evaluate the agreement between the two techniques, and the accuracy of SF technique for section acquisition and growth parameter measurement was evaluated.

Compared with traditiond technique, the SF had a better intra- and inter-observer agreements. The intraclass correlation coefficients of the four growth parameters were 0.998, 0.995, 0.998, and 0.998, separately. According to the expert judgement, the successful rates of sections A, B, and C acquirement by SFDA technique were 98.0%, 99.1%, and 99.6%, separately, and the accuracy for BPD, HC, AC, and FL measurement was 100%, 100%, 99.5%, and 100%, separately. The times required to obtain sections and parameters or just make the measurements by SF were both shorter than those by the traditional technique [21.26 (5.24) s vs 52.24 (14.90) s, Z=-27.366, P<0.001; 2.78 (0.66) s vs 35.70 (8.25) s, Z=-27.352, P<0.001].

SF technique is an automatic and intelligent technique for fetal standard section acquirement and growth parameter measurement, having a very high successful rate for standard sections acquirement and extremely high accuracy for fetal growth parameter measurement. Furthermore, it can greatly reduce the amount of time required for prenatal ultrasound examination, representing an efficient and reliable technique in prenatal ultrasound examination.