3D printed fetus to hold and love: Brazilian obstetrician prints ultrasound fetal model for visually impaired couple

Ana Paula and Alvaro with the baby's model

Ana Paula and Alvaro with the baby's model

A team of doctors from Brazil printed a 3D life like model of  baby in utero from images obtained from GE Voluson10 ultrasound  for a legally blind couple, so that they can feel their baby, because they were unable to see the ultrasound images.

Ana Paula Silveira and her husband, Alvaro Zermiani, live in São Paulo, Brazil, and are legally blind. Like other normal couples they also wanted to enjoy the grainy glimpses of their son, Davi Lucas and see him growing and developing well inside the uterus.

They consulted Dr. Heron Werner, a gynecologist and obstetrician working atthe DASA clinic in Rio de Janeiro, who is well into 3D printing and is known for printing 3D fetus models through high-quality ultrasound exams.

So, they printed the first fetus model for the couple at 12 weeks of pregnancy. Ana and Alvaro were thrilled. “Holding the small fetus at 12 weeks is an indescribable feeling,” she says. “Following up on our son’s evolution allowed us to have this feeling of being whole, because we feel with our hands.”

Ana Paula and Alvaro with Dr. Werner (left) in his office in Rio. 

Images credit: Ana Paula and Alvaro Zermiani.

Dr. Werner got the idea of 3D printing babies during a visit to Rio’s National Museum, which was using a tomography machine to digitize its ancient Egyptian exhibits.

“From the moment we got to the high-quality ultrasound exam, through the possibility of 3D printing it, I realized that it could also serve to enhance the prenatal experience of visually impaired pregnant women,” Dr. Werner said.

A second model has also been printed, in which they could feel Davi’s face and appreciate the close resemblance he shared with them. “Thanks to the exams and printing, we were able to not only know that our baby was growing healthy but also to have a very real contact and establish a very strong involvement with our son,” she says.

The ultrasound machine, Voluson E10 is GE’s newest and most advanced Voluson system to date. The Voluson E10’s Radiance System Architecture sets a new standard in imaging technology and gives the more clarity because of 4X ultrasound pathways for spectacular 2D and 3D/4D images with increased penetration, transfer the data at 10x speed providing higher resolution and very fast frame rates and it processes the information 4X times faster to streamline the workflow.

A real-time ultrasound GIF of a baby’s face taken by the GE’s Voluson 10 machine.

 Image credit: GE Healthcare

All images: Courtesy GE

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