Health and Tech: Detecting congenital anomalies with TIFFA

Hyderabad: Ultrasound scanning technology has now become a default imaging technique that every expectant woman undergoes during the course pregnancy. Technological advancements that have taken place in the last few years in this field has now made it possible for early detection of cogenital anomalies in the foetus. To leverage this technology so that pregnant […]

Hyderabad: Ultrasound scanning technology has now become a default imaging technique that every expectant woman undergoes during the course pregnancy.

Technological advancements that have taken place in the last few years in this field has now made it possible for early detection of cogenital anomalies in the foetus. To leverage this technology so that pregnant women have access to best healthcare in government maternity hospitals, the Telangana government has recently procured the advanced Targeted Imaging for Foetal Anomalies (TIFFA) machines and has started training care givers on utilising them efficiently in all Government Mother and Child Health (MCH) centres across Telangana.

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Essentially, the technology enables care providers to closely monitor the foetal growth and detect congenital anomalies at a very early stage so that a right treatment call can be taken and avoid still birth, which in India roughly ranges from 16 per live 1, 000 births in urban areas to 28 per 1000 live births in rural areas.

In the last few years, superspecialty private maternity hospitals have started regularly conducting TIFFA scans. Encouraged by the good results from such advanced diagnostic tests, the State government had decided to adopt TIFFA ultrasound scanning technology in Government hospitals.

More or less, there is a general acceptance among care givers that the TIFFA scan is a valuable prenatal screening test that allows them to look for ailments at a very early stage of pregnancy and take measures accordingly.

What are TIFFA scans and its applications?

Compared to the regular ultrasound, TIFFA scans are unique because they the ability to detect anomalies in the foetus at a very early stage of pregnancy. The TIFFA scans are usually considered as the most critical scan that is conducted in the second trimester (18 weeks to 23 weeks) of the pregnancy.

It has the ability to clearly look for defects in internal organs of the baby like heart, brain, lungs, kidneys etc and the scans gives an idea to doctors in government hospitals whether the internal organs of the baby have formed well and are functioning normally.

In fact, the TIFFA scan can also give clear images of external body parts like ears, eyes, limbs and arms and even alert doctors about cleft lip. It can show both abnormalities and detailed analysis of each of the internal organs so that the doctors can accurately diagnosis and treatment. The scan closely examines the foetus, the uterus of the pregnant women, baby’s health, growth, and development.

The TIFFA scan looks for anomalies in the foetus from head to toe, tracks overall growth of the organs, anatomy, position of placenta of the pregnant women, umbilical cord, and the condition of the amniotic fluid that surrounds the foetus. Abnormal positioning of the placenta, which usually leads to miscarriages, and alerts the doctors to provide treatment to the pregnant women, is also checked.