What would you think of the idea of meeting your child before they are even born?
The arrival of a child is a unique and special moment in the life of any couple. It’s no surprise that each stage of pregnancy is a source of excitement and discovery for future parents who eagerly await the arrival of their heirs.
One of the most anticipated stages of pregnancy is, without a doubt, the ultrasound, in which mother and father can, for the first time, see the baby, even if through images without much clarity or definition.
The process consists of using a device that launches high-frequency sound waves that are felt by the fetus inside the uterus.
The echo transmitted to the computer is converted into videos that identify the baby’s shape, as well as its position in the mother’s womb. The videos also provide a basis for babies’ development through images that resemble an X-ray exam.
Even though they move even the strongest-hearted moms, traditional ultrasounds never offered realistic representations and sensory experiences so that the exam could make this moment even more unique and special. That is until now.
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Super-realistic ultrasound
A Brazilian technology developed by medical researchers at PUC in Rio de Janeiro promises, in the near future, to definitively change the way prenatal exams are carried out around the world.
This is augmented virtual reality ultrasound. In it, father and mother, with the help of 3D glasses, are able to project their vision into the woman’s uterus, as if they were next to the fetus, just a few millimeters from touching it.
The process is carried out using traditional ultrasound images, which are converted into virtual reality through ultra-advanced computer programs, which map the entire internal area of the uterus, including every detail of the fetus, the umbilical cord, the placenta and even the baby’s face, in 360º angles.
This is the first time that virtual reality has been applied to ultrasound exams. Even though it has become popular with parents, the initial objective of this scientific advance is far from being purely emotional.
The idea of using virtual reality in ultrasounds is to get to know the baby’s structure in depth and identify anomalies, which can offer more chances to the medical team to safely prepare for precise surgeries that are less aggressive to the fetus and mother, in cases of extreme urgency and necessity.
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paper babies
Another complementary resource to this revolutionary discovery is the 3D printer. If the baby is diagnosed, inside the mother’s womb, with an anomaly or tumor and requires surgery, doctors are able to generate a 3D impression of the fetus, through images produced by virtual reality ultrasound, and study, with precision, the problem and risks of surgery, analyzing how the procedure should be carried out so as not to pose risks to the child’s life.
3D printing also allows visually impaired mothers to touch the fetus’s features and feel what the babies they are having inside them will be like, since they do not have the chance to see the images captured by traditional ultrasounds during pregnancy, which which ends up being yet another proof of how science can help the world become more human.
The researchers intend to soon make the process faster since, currently, the delay between performing the ultrasound and viewing it via augmented virtual reality is still long.
The idea is that the process becomes practically instantaneous, which would further increase the sensory experience parents have with their children.
To experience this incredible moment, parents need to make an advance request to the doctor and be willing to pay a good amount: the exam costs at least R$1000.
When a disease or change in the fetus is identified, depending on the doctor’s assessment, the specialist may request the procedure to be carried out.
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