All About 3-D and 4-D Ultrasounds

With elective ultrasounds being the norm today and most women at least getting one ultrasound done during their pregnancy in today's day and age it is hard to believe that just around 25 years ago most women did not get any ultrasounds unless their doctors suspected there might be a major problem. While generally a 2-D ultrasound is what most doctors will prescribe for their patients many women are opting to pay for their own 3-D and 4-D ultrasounds. These high tech ultrasounds have made major changes to the world and society. Here is a look at them and how they came to be.

3-D ultrasounds were first developed by Olaf von Ramm and Stephen Smith at Duke University back in 1987. These ultrasounds work similarly to 2-D ultrasounds in the fact that they are images based off of sound images but rather than the sound images being sent down straight and then reflected they are reflected back at different angles. With the help of a very high-tech computer program the results are a three-dimensional image of the baby's internal organs as well as the surface allowing parents and techs to see very detailed features of their unborn child.

While most parents opt to get one of these high-tech ultrasounds just for the fun of seeing their unborn child they can also be used to help determine if their child may have serious issues or conditions that would have otherwise been missed. 3-D and 4-D ultrasounds are often preferred because in all the years that they have been used there have been no known negative side effects of using them unlike other tests that expectant mothers can undergo if they choose to.

Generally for elective 3-D and 4-D ultrasounds expectant parents are advised to come in between weeks 25 and 31 of pregnancy to get the best results. Usually after week 32 of pregnancy the unborn baby is in a position where they cannot be seen as well. To use these ultrasounds to determine gender most ultrasound centers will wait until the 17th week of pregnancy although some claim gender can be determined as early as 12 weeks.

As for the future of 3-D and 4-D ultrasounds it is believed that they will be used more and more in hospitals and medical centers to aid in prenatal care as well helping to determine if the unborn child has health concerns. As for elective uses, more and more expectant parents are using them to find out the gender of their unborn child before their traditional 20 week scan that is usually required by their doctor and even seeing what their unborn baby may look like without having to wait till the big birth day.

Source cited: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_ultrasound