Butterfly Network Launches First-to-Market Artificial Intelligence Gestational Age Tool in Sub-Saharan Africa to Improve Maternal Health

The new tool empowers lower skilled healthcare workers to quickly and accurately calculate gestational age, without needing image interpretation or training, to expand ultrasound access in under-resourced Sub-Saharan Africa

BURLINGTON, Mass. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Butterfly Network, Inc. (“Butterfly”, “the Company”) (NYSE: BFLY), a digital health company transforming care with handheld, whole-body ultrasound and intuitive software, today announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind Gestational Age artificial intelligence (AI) tool in Malawi and Uganda. The tool is Butterfly’s latest innovation to improve maternal and fetal health through AI-aided point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), and comes as the Company announces a milestone year for its obstetrical POCUS advancement across the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region.

AI-Enabled Gestational Age Tool

During pregnancy, ultrasound is a critical tool for early detection of life-threatening complications; however, in low-resource settings like SSA, access to affordable ultrasound technology has been extremely restricted. The impact can be devastating – of all instances of maternal and neonatal mortality rates, 92% happen in low- and middle-income countries.

Continuing its commitment to advancing maternal health in under-resourced settings, Butterfly has integrated the world’s first AI-powered blind-sweep Gestational Age calculator directly into its app, now being used by clinicians in Malawi and Uganda.

The AI tool was made possible with support from the Gates Foundation and developed by the University of North Carolina. It provides a rapid estimate of gestational age through a simple blind-sweep scan – meaning no image interpretation or provider training is required. This advancement allows the tool to be used by an expanded set of users such as midwives and enables greater access to affordable ultrasound technology. Knowing an accurate gestational age with this tool allows clinicians to determine the right time for life-saving medications or procedures that might be necessary.

“We are committed to expanding obstetric POCUS adoption in low-resource settings and ultimately improving outcomes for mothers and babies,” said Dr. Sachita Shah, Vice President, Global Health at Butterfly Network. “Our AI-powered gestational age tool is an accurate, fast and simple way for lower skilled healthcare workers in SSA to get expecting women the right care plans for the stage of their pregnancy journey. Additionally, the model was trained using data from African populations in an effort to ensure relevance and high-quality performance.”

The Butterfly Gestational Age Tool is not yet available in the United States, but has been submitted to the US FDA and is currently pending review.

Butterfly’s Milestone Year Advancing Maternal Health in SSA

Amid this new technology innovation, Butterfly also celebrates the success of its 1,000 Probe Partnership. Through a Gates Foundation-funded deployment of 1,000 iQ+ handheld, whole-body POCUS probes and training of over 1,050 healthcare providers in SSA from September 2022 to December 2024, obstetrical ultrasound services have been integrated in more than 697 public health facilities in South Africa and Kenya. 1.8 million scans have been conducted as of July 2025, averaging 83,000 scans monthly. In partnership with Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Global Ultrasound Institute, Kenyatta University and University of Pretoria, the first large-scale research project on maternal mortality is demonstrating that deployment of POCUS at scale has tremendous impact on provider satisfaction and patient outcomes.

Additionally, the newest Butterfly device, iQ3™, has been approved for use in South Africa and Kenya. Butterfly’s AI offerings combined with its most advanced imaging quality, device ergonomics and charging speed, allow for greater POCUS availability, quicker scans and easier interpretations in these countries.

Preliminary Data Suggests Positive Impact of Obstetric POCUS on Maternal Health

In Kenya, the most recent output from Kenyatta University's analysis of the 1,000 Probe Partnership identified that after Butterfly was introduced, the volume of women presenting for antenatal care before 24 weeks significantly increased and more than 90% of patients reported satisfaction with the care received.

In South Africa, CHAI’s preliminary data suggests a significant reduction in stillbirths, neonatal mortality and maternal mortality following use of midwife-led OB-POCUS. Across 191 facilities, 873 appropriate referrals to higher levels of care were made for expecting mothers, mainly for reasons of malpresentation, multiple gestation and ectopic pregnancy assessment. In 23 facilities, a total of 71 pregnant women were retained at a lower-level facility for a safe and appropriate vaginal delivery.

Additionally, in the Eastern Cape province, initial analysis shows a 1.13% decrease in stillbirths and 20.6% decrease in maternal mortality in the 12 months since training was conducted.

Beyond improving quality of care, Butterfly data shows how the company has made it faster and easier to use POCUS with dramatically reduced training needs for lower-skilled workers. The providers’ scan times average just 1.3 minutes; they report high confidence detecting key maternal conditions (rising 23 points to 85% after training), and 99.6% of providers pass the rigorous live clinical assessments.

While other factors or new interventions introduced during the course of the project may have also contributed to these outcomes, overall, OB-POCUS from Butterfly is expected to be an impactful addition to health systems looking to improve neonatal and maternal health outcomes.

About Butterfly Network

Butterfly Network, Inc. (NYSE: BFLY) is a healthcare company driving a digital revolution in medical imaging with its proprietary Ultrasound-on-Chip™ semiconductor technology and ultrasound software solutions. In 2018, Butterfly launched the world’s first handheld, single-probe, whole-body ultrasound system, Butterfly iQ. The iQ+ followed in 2020, and the iQ3 in 2024, each with improved processing power and performance by leveraging Moore’s Law. The iQ3 earned Best Medical Technology at the 2024 Prix Galien USA Awards, a prestigious honor and one of the highest accolades in healthcare. Butterfly’s innovations have also been recognized by Fierce 50, TIME’s Best Inventions and Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas, among other achievements.

Butterfly combines advanced hardware, intelligent software, AI, services, and education to drive adoption of affordable, accessible imaging. Clinical publications demonstrate that its handheld ultrasound probes paired with Compass™ enterprise workflow software, can help hospital systems improve care workflows, reduce costs, and enhance provider economics. With a cloud-based solution that enables care anywhere through next-generation mobility, Butterfly aims to democratize healthcare by addressing critical global healthcare challenges. Butterfly devices are commercially available to trained healthcare practitioners in areas including, but not limited to, parts of Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America; to learn more about Butterfly’s Global Health Program, please visit: https://www.butterflynetwork.com/global-health.