3D prints let visually impaired mom-to-be ‘see’ son’s ultrasound

By JULIE MINDA

It’s a much anticipated pregnancy milestone for countless expectant moms: seeing their baby for the first time — on a video monitor — when they have their second trimester ultrasound.

But for Ashton Johnson, a visually impaired woman pregnant with her first child, her 20-week ultrasound at an Omaha, Nebraska, clinic late last year was a bit frustrating. She has a genetic condition that prevents her from seeing images that lack sharp contrast, so it was impossible for her to discern as a baby the ill-defined black, gray and white pixels that she saw on the ultrasound monitor.

Her husband, Logan Johnson, narrated what he saw on the screen — the baby

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