NEW TECHNOLOGY CREATES ILLUSION OF “TOUCHING” AN UNBORN BABY DURING ULTRASOUND

ALBUQUERQUE, May 8, 2002 (LSN.ca) – A U.S. company claims it has pioneered a new haptic (tactile) computer technology that enables parents to “touch” the features of their unborn child during ultrasound, according to a May 7 press release from Manhattan Scientifics Inc.  Hailing “the Ultimate Mother’s Day Gift,” the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based company says “e-Touch”(TM), a 3-D system developed by affiliate Novint Technologies Inc., gives parents “unprecedented interaction with their unborn child by providing the ability to touch the child’s virtual image.” The procedure, for which they will charge $250 per exam, is to be unveiled at New Mexico Sonographics, a medical facility in Albuquerque, this week.  e-Touch creates the illusion that the customer is feeling the texture of an unborn baby’s face and skin by means of a computer mouse and software that simulates the sensation of touch during ultrasound, “enhancing the connection with the child,” the company says.  Tom Anderson, CEO of the company, extols the potential for early medical diagnosis and pre-operative surgical planning in cancer and other surgeries. “Previously, neither parents nor the medical community have had such hands-on interaction with a fetus in utero,” Anderson says. “I have touched my son’s cheek, and he is not born yet!”  For the full May 7, 2002 Press Release from Manhattan Technologies see: https://www.mhtx.com/  For information on Novint, the company researching “haptic” technology, see: www.novint.com