Modern technologies, such as 3D printing, do not only bring companies (financial) progress. They can also sometimes lead to a ‘feel-good’ story. For example, a Brazilian blind couple were overjoyed to receive a 3D print of the ultrasound scan of their unborn child.
For people who are blind, pregnancy can be a difficult experience. Generally, they have to resign themselves to never knowing exactly what their child will look like. Brazilian Ana Paula Silveira and her husband Alvaro Zermiani had done just that. They are both completely blind.
But GE Healthcare's ultrasound and 3D printing technology, Voluson E10, offered a solution: a 3D ultrasound allowed them not only to monitor their baby's development but also to meet their son, Davi Lucas, before birth.
Computed tomography
Dr Heron Werner, a gynaecologist, is the man behind the idea of 3D printed ultrasounds. He came upon it through a 3D-printing project in 2007 where computer tomography was used to display fossils and mummies at the National Museum. "I thought: why not use this technology to print foetuses?"
The biggest challenge was to convert the technology from computed tomography to ultrasound. Computed tomography, which is not used for routine ultrasounds, uses x-ray beams to generate images. Ultrasound images are compiled using sound waves. It eventually took Werner and his team a year to create 3D printed models of ultrasound images.
"Now I take an ultrasound of the baby and use the data to create a file compatible with 3D printers," he says.
Development in pictures
The GE Healthcare Voluson E10 is the first ultrasound system in the obstetric field where 3D printing capability is built directly into the system. Doctors can thus give parents a better understanding of abnormalities such as a harelip, abdominal wall defects or other abnormal extremities. In some cases, 3D printing can underpin surgical procedures and be used for educational purposes.
Ana and Alvaro received a total of three 3D ultrasounds, from each trimester, of their baby. "It was great to be able to touch my baby's face. As you know, touch is important when you are blind. To almost be able to hold him after 12 weeks was indescribable. His mouth, nose, ears, everything felt so real. I was happy that I now had more than just someone's description of my child's appearance."
By: Kelly Bakker
Source: GE Healthcare
