Michael Nabity, M.D., OB-Gyn physician affiliated with Alegent Health Women's and Children's Services Find out more about Dr. Nabity

Expectant mother Michelle Thompson is watching an ultrasound, the first home movie of her baby. That's become the standard, but this time, Michelle is seeing something different. She's getting a clear picture of what the baby looks like on the surface.

Traditional ultrasound, a non-invasive procedure, uses sound waves bouncing off the body of the fetus to generate a two-dimensional image of the fetus. The test can provide useful information regarding the fetus such as estimating the age of the unborn baby, as well as how many fetuses are in the uterus. Ultrasound is also helpful in determining if the baby appears to be developing normally. A normal ultrasound does not always mean the baby is completely healthy, but it can sometimes detect indications that the fetus is at higher risk.

Although the 2-D ultrasound is still an invaluable tool in determining normal development, Alegent Health now offers a revolutionary 4-dimensional ultrasound that allows doctors and parents to view the baby in 3 dimensions, seeing details of fetal development not possible with the standard 2-D ultrasound.

4-D ultrasound enables physicians, technicians a parents to watch fetal activity as a 3-D image in real-time, as the scan is being performed, and provides a more detailed view of the baby's anatomy as early as the first trimester.

The photographic views of the fetus provided by the 4-D ultrasound may help clarify the extent of a suspected fetal structural abnormality, some of which may not be detected by a standard 2-D ultrasound.

Dr. Michael Nabity, OB-Gyn physician affiliated with Alegent Health says, "It gives a more surface image of the body, including the spine, in one image. The external aspects are the baby are seen much better."

Facial surfaces of the head and neck with details of the ears, eyes, nose, mouth and chin revealed with the new technology can be stunning to parents. "It increases the fun factor tremendously," says Dr. Nabity.

Expectant mother Michelle Thompson says "It's one of the neatest things I've ever seen. It's very exciting to see this.