IN UTERO 3D is 3D Printing Unborn Babies so Their Blind Mothers Can “See” Them

Poland-based startup IN UTERO 3D provides blind pregnant moms with a 3D print of their unborn babies so they can feel and “see” them.

Based on images from an ultrasound, physical models are created using 3D printing technology. IN UTERO 3D recommends to provide files from ultrasound examinations between the 18th and 30th week of pregnancy. The files can either be in Cartesian Volume format (*.vol) from General Electric Volusion or DICOM format (*.dcm) from Aloka instruments.

The company has developed their own software for the conversion of the ultrasound files into 3D printable bas-reliefs. All proportions, spatial relations and actual dimensions are maintained in doing so. While it takes about 2 to 3 hours to prepare the model, the 3D printing process can last from 4 to 7 hours on their Ultimaker printer.

For blind mothers outside of Poland, IN UTERO 3D will get back to 3D printing services such as 3D Hubs to produce the actual print out of the foetus.