One of the biggest problems with having babies is that you have to wait nine months to see what they look like up close. 3D printing, however, is changing that.
Working alongside Japanese clinics, Tokyo-based medical engineering firm Fasotec has started a program that gives expecting parents 3D printed models of their babies’ faces, as detailed in a recent CNN segment.
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Above: Fasotec’s scrapped its idea for 3D printed fetuses.
Fasotec creates the printouts via a technology called BioTexture, which uses ultrasound to generate the initial 3D models.
What’s interesting is that Fasotec also experimented with creating printed models of entire fetuses, but it scrapped the idea on fears of the damage the MRI scans could cause to pregnant women.
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Unsurprisingly, all of this is pretty expensive. Fasotec charges $500 for the entire scanning and printing process, so unless you’re really impatient to touch your unborn child’s face, perhaps is better to wait a few months.
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