iFetus

Here is an idea that is sure to be a boon for the expecting mother, as well as well-wishing co-workers and friends who don’t know how to react as she excitedly wields the unintelligible splotches of the ultrasound. “Congratulations… er, you’re expecting a healthy white blob.”

Enter the iFetus. The iFetus is a handheld device, the size of an ipod that includes a screen and small number key bad. Essentially it tracks the growth of the zygote, based on the estimated conception date the user sets the device to. The zygote’s growth stages are tracked and displayed in real time. The image of the zygote is not an actual image of the user’s, but rather a fetal model created by tracking an actual fetus during the entirety of its development stages and exhibiting statistically standard growth rates. As parents learn new facts about their baby from the doctor (i.e. sex) they input the information into the device and the device continues to display, for the duration of pregnancy and on request an image of the baby using on ray-casting graphic technology based on the original model. It alerts parents to occasional updates when development milestones are reached. For example, Emily Expecting wakes up one morning and checks her ifetus. The device announces that Fanny Fetus has just developed the beginnings of eyelids. She then shares the news with the hubby, who until this time had no means to intimate, physical connection with the alleged being growing in his wife’s womb. Knowing the actual stages of growth as they happen instill both of them with a deep connection with their unborn child.

Of course the iFetus could be of value to more than just expectant mothers. It could serve as a startling gift for soon-to-be grandparents who don’t yet know they are soon to be. They could also serve as educational tools. A classroom could adopt an iFetus for nine months and track its development. This could be a proactive approach to instilling young sexually active teens with a deeper understanding of the sacredness of life and the gravity of pregnancy.

As well, this provides plenty of conversation fodder for Emily as she runs into acquaintances at the supermarket or in the gym. It also gives her fawning friends more to work with when conjuring compliments and well wishes for mom. “Congratulations,” they can now say with confidence, as they peer admiringly at the screen “your baby really looks like one. She has very fetching femurs, and I can see she definitely has her mother’s spleen.”