Watch CBS News

New Sonograms Create Amazingly Accurate Images

MIAMI (CBS4) - The newest and best sonograms available to expectant moms involve 3D/4D imaging but some people wonder, just how accurate is the technology?

Will the baby really look like that when he or she is born?

To see what people think, CBS4's Cynthia Demos set up a test on the sidewalks of Cocowalk in Coconut Grove. She set up a laptop computer and as people passed by she randomly asked if they would like to take part in a survey. She first played them a video which showed a 3D/4D sonogram image of a 34 week old fetus in the womb. Next she showed them pictures of three different newborn babies to see to see if they could pick out which baby was show in the 3D/4D image.

"What features are you focusing on," Demos asked a couple from Key Largo shopping in the area.

"Oh the lips and nose" said Bud Conlin who picked the child in the picture labeled C..

"The cleft seems to be pronounced" said another man.

The sonogram is some times used by doctors to detect medical problems like cleft palates and other issues; 30 to 40 percent of OB/GYN's have the technology.

After her tests on the street, Demos had two University of Miami college students analyze the sonogram and three photos. After carefully looking them over, one picked picture C while the other chose the child in picture B.

Demos then went to the man who actually made the 3D/4D sonogram used in the video – Christian Lopez.

"Well, that looks like C to me," said Lopez after viewing the babies in all three pictures.

Lopez knew his work, the correct answer was the child in the C pictures. Lopez was hardly alone. Of the 10 people Demos asked to guess, nine of them guessed correctly.

When the mother was questioned about the results, she said when her baby was born she did look like the sonogram image. By the way, the mother was Demos and the baby in the image is her now 4 month old little girl, Brooke.

Click Here for more information on 3D/4D sonograms.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue