VP17.04: Three-dimensional printing from prenatal ultrasonography for visually impaired expectant parents: an international protocol

The experience of pregnancy sets visually impaired expectant parents apart from nondisabled people for whom viewing of the first ultrasound has become a social and emotional milestone. Vision loss leads them to difficulties, such as pregnancy embodiment, mental representation, dependency upon oral description by health care providers, and early fetal attachment. In parallel to these difficulties, three-dimensional (3D) printing technology from surface-rendered prenatal sonographic views has recently allowed to better apprehend fetal abnormalities in nondisabled patient, improving their comprehension. Therefore, we proposed to improve the societal inclusion of visually impaired expectant parents, by using 3D printing technology. 3D-printing of tactile models from ultrasonographic examinations between 12 and 28 gestational weeks were mainly used. To obtain better 3D printed results, the presence of amniotic fluid is indeed necessary around the fetal face. The analysis protocol was based on multiplanar reconstructions in the three traditional orthogonal planes and tomographic reconstructions. Fused deposition modelling technology was used to obtain the haptic models and multiple materials have been tested. Satisfaction was assessed by a satisfaction questionnaire performed orally at the end of reading the printed models. Prenatal tactile 3D ultrasonography therefore offers visually impaired persons a sensory vector that is useful for bridging the disability-related gap, allowing for societal inclusion. This tactile experience can enable an emotionally richer aspect to the medical consultation, offering impaired expectant parents an accommodation that allows the first ultrasound appointment to be refocused on the parents' encounter with their unborn child. They can thereby perform their own mental representation process by extrapolating sensory information obtained from 3D tactile support. 3D printed models improve the sonographic experience of visually impaired expectant parents.