The Oakland Press Home | Back

By LARA MOSSA Of The Daily Oakland Press    

Jan Arthurs, 26, of Grand Blanc was amazed at the clarity of her babys first picture. Compared with traditional ultrasound pictures, the three-dimensional image captured her babys round cheek and closed fingers.    

"I was just shocked when I saw the image on the screen," said Arthurs, who is 36 weeks pregnant with a boy. "You can actually see facial features. You can see everything on the baby."    

Arthurs had the picture taken at Oh Baby! Pre-Birth Imaging, a business that opened last week in West Bloomfield Township. The center creates 3-D pictures and CD video clips of babies in the womb.    

"It's such a happy business were in," said Barry Notarius, who founded the business with his friend Sy Freilich.    

The company uses advanced ultrasound technology to take multiple pictures of the baby. The images are then edited to create realistic photos. The technology is about 7 years old and just becoming available at obstetricians offices and hospitals, Notarius said.     The service is offered for women who are between 22 weeks and 36 weeks pregnant.  However, the pictures are most vivid between 26 weeks and 32 weeks.     The business provides a limited diagnostic survey, but the service is not meant for medical purposes. There is no doctor on staff.     Customers must have had a two-dimensional ultrasound already and be under the care of a doctor. Oh Baby! notifies the doctor of the additional ultrasound.    

"You can actually see facial features.
You can see everything on the baby."    

The business has four certified sonographers who conduct the scans and received special training on the diagnostics equipment.  Customers must make an appointment for the imaging session. They are allowed to bring friends and relatives. The pictures are centered on the baby's face, so clients who do not wish to know the gender of their baby can still obtain a photo.  The basic package is $179 for two 4-by-6-inch photos and nine wallet-sized pictures.    

Freilich said he heard about the emerging technology and thought the business would be a good fit for the Detroit market. Similar centers are opening all over.    

Notarius owns a computer systems company called Eagle Business Solutions, based in Farmington Hills, while Freilich owns AquaTest Laboratories, a certified drinking water lab in White Lake Township.     Notarius, 62, and his wife, Beth, have two children and live in West Bloomfield. Freilich, 56, and his wife, Diana, have three children and live in White Lake.

Notarius and Freilich plan to open three or four more Oh Baby! centers in the area.

Home | Back


Oh Baby! Pre-Birth Imaging
(248) 855-1655
All rights reserved 2003-2005
created by www.psldesigns.com