To truly engage our target audience in an emotional way we needed to tell a true story. So we went in search of visually impaired women with their babies on the way and took 4 of them for a routine ultrasound exam. Therefore we could generate the data we needed: a real scan of their unborn babies, all of them 21 to 30 weeks old, using a standard 4D ultrasound machine currently found in hospitals and clinics in Brazil and all over the world. As the idea had its core in the real exam data there was no need for new technologies or non-standard medical procedures. Common 4D ultrasound machines generate a standard universal “.dicom” file containing the baby scan. We needed to turn it into a 3D printable file while keeping it accurate and identical to the original data. So we used a 3D modeling software to open it and re-create the baby with attention to every physiognomy details including its actual position inside the uterus. After the 3D model was ready we turned it into a real-size sculpture using a standard-type 3D printer. The idea was to make something anatomic, easy to hold and we even added a braille inscription: “Hello Mom, I’m your son”. The piece was wrapped in a baby blanket and delivered to each Mom by surprise. Their true, natural reactions recorded on video and turned into a 4-online film campaign prove that this is an idea that can truly change lives, giving back to visually impaired mothers-to-be all over the world the right to meet their babies before birth. Something that technology had already allowed all the other mothers to have, but not them. A new kind of social inclusion capable of strengthening the most important human bond: mother and son.

The creative output is the result of a data-based idea that combines two existent technologies in an unprecedented way. 3D/4D ultrasound machines are already standard in most of the world’s hospitals and prenatal clinics and 3D printers are sold everywhere in all kinds of sizes at affordable conditions for any company. This makes it possible to turn ultrasound exams into baby sculptures for blind mothers-to-be as new product in a scalable way, with deliveries ranging from minutes to a few days depending on the printer speed and demand. The experience, nevertheless, will be there no matter the time it takes to reach the mother-to-be hands. Since the launch of the online campaign “Meeting Murilo” has generated more than US$ 12+ million worth in earned media and 2.3 billion impressions including segments in The Huffington Post, Time Magazine, People Magazine, ABC TV, CBS News, CNN, FOX News, New York Daily News, UK Daily Mail, The Telegraph, Mirror, RTL Nieuws, Rede Globo, Mashable, BuzzFeed, FastCompany, C|Net, Reddit. The project ignited a global discussion and is already being referred as a benchmark in prenatal care.