A prenatal imaging clinic in Canada accused of providing identical 3D images of ultrasound sessions to its clients claims that a computer virus has infected its instrument, causing it to produce the same photographs over and over again.
More than a dozen soon-to-be moms in Toronto are outraged after having been given identical images of ultrasound sessions by BabyView Prenatal Imaging.
They found out about the issue after one of the women, Jenn Cusimano, posted the 3D ultrasound image after her visit to the clinic on May 3. Another client of BabyView saw that it closely resembled her own ultrasound image, though hers was taken a month earlier.
As it turns out, both images were identical to the one featured on BabyView's website.
According to Cusimano, 13 other women who went to the clinic to receive ultrasound imaging were also given the same 3D photograph.
"I was immediately enraged," Cusimano said. "I thought 'Maybe it was a mistake,' but there was something telling me it wasn't."
On May 18, BabyView released an apology to the affected clients through a post on Facebook. The clinic said the issue was caused by a glitch in its printing system, which has since been properly addressed. It is also offering clients with re-scans of their ultrasound imaging or a full refund.
BabyView Prenatal Imaging is owned and operated by Moshina Adeelmir, a doctor from Pakistan and a licensed sonographer in Ontario.
Adeelmir's husband, Adeel Mir, who is in-charge of the clinic's IT, said that the identical 3D images were likely caused by a computer virus infecting their printing system.
Mir pointed out that they keep the ultrasound images in separate folders, one for each of their clients. He said that the virus could have prevented their system from placing the 3D images in their respective folders.
Mir said he only found out about the identical 3D images on Wednesday morning, and that he still doesn't know what actually happened.
Mou Corraya, an ultrasound technician working for another clinic, said that technicians should process the 3D images in front of their clients.
"What I do is I match the number, I match the timing and then I print out immediately," she said.
Corraya added that ultrasound images should always have time-stamps, something that was missing in the 3D images provided by BabyView.
Photo: Steve Davis | Flickr
