iSPACE

Project summary

Studying images of embryos which ‘float’ in Erasmus MC’s virtual research space I-Space results in important information about the growth and development of the unborn baby.
The I-Space ‘virtual reality’-systeem from Erasmus MC is a research facility in which medical images can be projected floating in the air. The three dimensional images can be studied from all sides with a special pair of spectacles.
Rousian has discovered that the virtual reality is ideal for visualizing certain structures in the embryo. With a special technique she was able to measure the volume of an embryo in a simple manner and establish the development stage as well. “It is important to follow the embryo’s structures and growth in as much detail as possible”, she says. “Abnormal growth in this early stage has dire consequences at a later stage.” Rousian emphasizes that for now, this way of imaging is used only for research and for high risk pregnancies.