RUSSIA, March 15, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Ultrasound technology has advanced to the point where an incredibly detailed 3D “printable” image can be produced for parents to see and hold their preborn babies. Doctors can use these to check on the baby’s normal growth.
Russian company Embryo 3D is just one of several businesses offering life-size 3D holdable “prints” of ultrasounds. They specialize in intricate features such as the face, hands, feet, and umbilical cord of the baby in the womb.
A friend “was worried about the health of her child and wanted to see it,” Embryo 3D chief Ivan Gridin told Russia Today. “She had an ultrasound several times, but it wasn’t enough. I was fond of new technologies at that time and 3D-printing. And I said ‘let’s print it.’”
Doctors use 3D “prints” to better inspect the baby’s health and development. They say the models help spot abnormalities and to diagnose medical problems the baby may have.
Last week in the city of Ufa, Yuliana Recun got a 3D model of her preborn baby.
“We ordered a 3D model of our child, which is in my belly now,” she told International Business Times. “It is a weird feeling, the child hasn’t been born yet and but you can touch it and feel it as it is.”
The 3D “prints” are the latest step in image technology, building on 3D and 4D ultrasound applied science.
Mothers excited to see and hold their developing babies love the idea.
“They said it felt great to see how their babies looked before birth, and to be able to actually hold the inside of their own body,” a representative of the company Fasotec recalled. “They also enjoyed looking at the model after giving birth, thinking, ‘This is how my baby looked inside me’ and recalling how it felt to be pregnant.”
In 2014, Korea’s 3D Story Corporation produced “Meet My Bebe” models from ultrasounds, improving detail. In 2016, In Utero 3D continued the popular tech trend.
Virtual Reality applications also help doctors give preborns checkups. One software product allows the physician to “zoom in” to inspect the growing baby.
The lifelike Embryo 3D “prints” come in a variety of coats.
“Earlier we printed only from plastic,” Gridin explained, “but now we are able to make plaster models and cover them with precious metals.”