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The International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) group, established in 1999 by Dirk Timmerman, Lil Valentin, and Tom Bourne, initially aimed to standardize terminology for describing adnexal masses in sonography. IOTA, coordinating globally from KU Leuven, has broadened its research to include various aspects of gynecological ultrasonography. The group's significant achievements include developing predictive models for assessing the malignancy risk in adnexal masses, including the simple rules, LR 1-2 models, and the ADNEX model. These models, validated globally, perform well across various ultrasound experience levels. Current IOTA projects include studying long-term outcomes of untreated adnexal masses, investigating additional diagnostic tests like MRI, and identifying new biomarkers. With over 50 participating clinical units worldwide and a multidisciplinary team, IOTA emphasizes collaborative research and open communication. In 2015, IOTA focused on disseminating its research findings at its second congress and continues to welcome new ideas and collaborators.

The International Endometrial Tumor Analysis (IETA) group aims to optimize the diagnosis of endometrial pathology. Following the publication of the IETA-consensus paper in 2010, different studies have been launched focusing on patients with abnormal uterine bleeding before and after menopause (IETA-1), interobserver agreement using the IETA terms & definitions to report the endometrium at ultrasonography (IETA-2), the value of ultrasound endometrial scanning in women without abnormal uterine bleeding (IETA-3), and the added value of ultrasonography in the staging of patients with endometrial cancer (IETA-4). More than 6000 patients, from 28 international centers have been included in the IETA studies. The IETA project has led to several publications in international peer review journals.

The Morphological Uterus Sonographic Assessment (MUSA) group aims to optimize the diagnosis of myometrial pathology, including benign myomas, malignant uterine sarcomas and adenomyosis. In 2015 the MUSA group published the MUSA terms & definitions paper on the ultrasonographic examination of the myometrium. The MUSA consortium has started different studies focusing on the differential diagnosis between benign and malignant myometrial lesions (MUSA-1) including a prospective and a retrospective arm (MUSA-retrosarcoma), the interobserver agreement in sonographic reporting (MUSA-2), adenomyosis and clinical symptoms (MUSA-3), adenomyosis and fertility (MUSA-4), ultrasonography in the management of myomas (MUSA-5: MYOVASC study, together with the VU Amsterdam) and the translational arm on the use of liquid biopsy in the diagnosis of uterine sarcomas (MUSA-6 or trans-MUSA).

In 2016, the International Deep Endometriosis Analysis (IDEA) group published a consensus paper on how to use ultrasonography in the preoperative assessment of women with alleged endometriosis. The IDEA-group has launched observational non-interventional academic multicenter studies aiming to validate this new IDEA-terminology in daily gynecological ultrasound practice aiming to predict the different phenotypes of endometriosis in women scheduled for laparoscopic surgery. In the translational arm (trans-IDEA) the use of liquid biopsies in the detection of endometriosis will be assessed.

The Early Pregnancy Care (EPC) research group is a recent line of research within the department, aiming towards a better risk stratification in women presenting in the first 10 weeks of gestation. The studies focus on the early diagnosis of ectopic pregnancies, the prediction of abnormal placentation, the management of retained pregnancy tissue and of caesarean scar defects. The main diagnostic tools are 3D-ultrasound and artificial intelligence.