Blind parents can ‘SEE’ their baby thanks to 3D ULTRASOUNDS in major breakthrough
An Argentinian medical team has developed a groundbreaking way to help blind parents.
Pediatrician Mario Pellizari, specialist in diagnostic imaging Mario Ledesma and a 3D printing technician, Santiago Nicolini, have managed to create a 3D impression of an ultrasound.
The result shows the tridimensional face of a still unborn baby, 29-week-old Malena.
Her parents, Daniel Iturria and Silvina Ibarra, are both blind, but thanks to this invention they will be able to follow the growth of their baby through the pregnancy, feeling the changing shapes and features of Malena as she grows. It was extremely exciting because they began to feel it, first one, then the other and then the two together Dr Mario Pellizari The loving couple shared their desire to see their daughter before she was born.
Other parents do it thanks to scans and ultrasounds.
But the lack of tactile features of these systems sparked fears the couple would struggle to see their child.
The medical team started working on a system when Malena was 18-week-old. Eleven weeks later, they were able to deliver their promise to the hopeful parents.
Doctor Pellizari shared his excitement for his team’s discovery to the Argentine newspaper Clarín, saying: “It was extremely exciting because they began to feel it, first one, then the other and then the two together.”
Silvina and Daniel have been together for two years before deciding to start a family.
While Silvina was born blind, Daniel lost his vision when he was a child. This groundbreaking 3D technology is just the latest push to help blind people to improve their lives.
Recently, the University of Oxford has developed a pair of assisted vision glasses, which could enhance the little sight people affected by partial blindness and help become more independent.
Dr Stephen Hicks from the University of Oxford said: “What we’re trying to do with the project is produce a pair of glasses that can enable someone who has got very little sight to allow them to walk around unfamiliar places, to recognise obstacles, and to get a greater independence.”
And a few years back, online tech magazine Yanko Design shared the concept idea of a Braille ebook reader, which would enable even people who completely lost their sight to use a digital reader device.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) there are 285 million visually impaired people around the world.
(Additional reporting by Maria Ortega)