Not keen on this, not keen on this at all. Having a child is spooky enough without putting a life-size exact replica of the foetus on the mantelpiece.
But me not being ‘keen’ on something will not stop it from happening, will it? Which is why a Russian company with the ghoulish name of Embryo 3D is going ahead with a terrifying scheme to print off models of unborn children, in a pointed and barbed attempt to specifically disrupt my sleep patterns.
Essentially, if you want this, then they use ultrasound images to create a 3D model of your child, and then they print it off using a clicking, whirring machine in an entirely unsettling process that I wish never to see again. Here, look:
(or don’t, don’t look)
Ivan Gridin, the founder of Embryo 3D, came up with the technology to help his friend during pregnancy. He said:
“I have a friend [who] was worried about the health of her child and wanted to see it.
“She had an ultrasound several times, but it wasn’t enough. I was fond of new technologies at that time and 3D-printing. And I said ‘let’s print it’.
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“Earlier we printed only from plastic, but now we are able to make plaster models and cover them with precious metals.”
So you can have a gold one, presumably - bet everyone will be jealous of that at your next dinner party. Nobody will be turning that around to face the wall because it’s “looking” at them.
A recipient of the treatment, Yuliana Recu, told International Business Times:
“We ordered a 3D model of our child, which is in my belly now.
“It is a weird feeling, the child hasn’t been born yet but you can touch it and feel it as it is.”
Of course, there is actually a good, real, important reason behind this tech, and it’s that it can be used to aid doctors in assessing abnormalities. VR tech can also be used to reveal even more in-depth images of an unborn child, which even stretches to internal images, such as the heartbeat. So it is actually a good thing. Albeit an incredibly creepy good thing.
The physical, tangible models seemingly being popular with parents who also want a keepsake of their baby, one that doesn’t cry and is much easier to look after.
Either way, think I’ll leave it - my bronze judo trophy from when I was six is all I need to impress my mates down the pub.
(Image: RT)
