Blind, expectant parents cry with joy ‘seeing’ baby in utero
Because of advances in 3-D printing technology, visually impaired expectant parents are for the first time able to “see” their babies in utero via printable plastic models of their sonogram photos.
Blind parents-to-be now have a way to experience the joys of a sonogram (the image produced from an ultrasound scan), thanks to 3-D printing technology that can produce life-sized models of their babies in utero.
While researching ways to improve prenatal diagnostic tools, Brazilian industrial designer Jorge Roberto Lopes dos Santos realized that emerging 3-D printers could give expectant moms and dads with visual impairments a way to cherish the kinds of prenatal keepsakes that other parents-to-be have long enjoyed from traditional sonogram photos.
