A model of a mother's fetus, created using 3D printing technology (YouTube)A Japanese clinic is offering parents-to-be the chance to hold their baby months before the child leaves the womb. Using a "Bio-Texture" process and MRI scans, the technology offered by Fasotec and Hiroo Ladies Clinic in Tokyo, Japan, creates a 3D model of the mother's fetus and womb.
The "Shape of an Angel" service costs 100,000 (about $1,276), not including the cost of the MRI.
"We actually got three expectant mothers to try this out. They said it felt great to see how their babies looked before birth, and to be able to actually hold the inside of their own body," Fasotec representative Tomohiro Kinoshita told DigInfo. "They also enjoyed looking at the model after giving birth, thinking, 'This is how my baby looked inside me' and recalling how it felt to be pregnant."
3D printing is an exciting, emerging technology that uses digital models to create real-life objects. Last week, we told you about University of Southern California engineer Behrokh Khoshnevis, who said it would be theoretically possible to build a home in 20 hours using 3D printing technology. There are plenty of critics of the new technology as well. After all, in June a U.S. gunsmith showed used 3D printing to help create a working firearm.
[Via Badass Digest]