More than a dozen women in the Greater Toronto Area are claiming they were given apparently identical 3D images after their ultrasound sessions at a Pickering, Ont. prenatal imaging clinic. The clinic in question, meanwhile, says it suspects a computer virus is behind the replica images.
The allegedly identical images came to light after one woman posted a picture from her 3D ultrasound to a Facebook group for expectant mothers, and asked others to post theirs too.
Shortly after Jenn Cusimano of Oshawa, Ont. posted the 3D ultrasound image she was given following her May 3 appointment at BabyView Prenatal Imaging, another mother-to-be posted what appears to be the exact same photo. Except hers had supposedly been taken on April 9.
Turns out the image which appears identical also appears on the company's website.
Since the allegedly identical ultrasound images came to light on Tuesday, Cusimano said 13 different women have said, on Facebook, that they received them too.
Cusimano said the photo from the clinic that she believed was of her baby boy had been sitting in a frame in her house for the last two weeks.
"I was immediately enraged," Cusimano told CTVNews.ca. "I thought 'Maybe it was a mistake', but there was something telling me it wasn't."
Caitlin Macconnell of Ajax, Ont., told CTVNews.ca that she was among the original 13 women who realized through Facebook that they had been given the allegedly identical ultrasound images.
She had her ultrasound on May 5 and was initially “very excited” about the 3D pictures. But when she compared them to the others, she said she was “completely heartbroken.”
Clinic says computer glitch behind replica images
Adeel Mir said his wife, Moshina Adeelmir, has owned and operated BabyView Prenatal Imaging for the past six months and he takes care of IT issues at the clinic.
Mir said his wife worked as a doctor in Pakistan and is a licensed sonographer in Ontario.
Adeelmir's biography was listed on the BabyView website on Wednesday morning, but the 'About Us' page on the site has since been removed.
Mir is attributing the replica images to a computer glitch caused by what he suspects is a virus.
"We have specific folders for every client. So we keep those images in those folders to get the print-out," Mir told CTVNews.ca. "Due to some virus, those images were not going into those specific folders, which were created for those clients."
He said he believes certain images were being replicated in the clinic's computer systems because of a virus.
"To be honest we still don't know what happened," he said, noting that he only learned of the replica photos Wednesday morning.
Mir also noted that it's "challenging" for sonographers to immediately notice that the images of the baby taken during the ultrasound do not match the printed photo.
He noted that, at 22 weeks gestation and younger, "the features of a baby are 99.9 per cent similar."
Mir said, in the future, the clinic will exercise greater "due diligence" to ensure clients are getting the correct images from ultrasounds.
He also said the clinic is offering clients who have received incorrect images a free session or a refund on their images.
"I apologize on behalf of BabyView," Mir said. "We are sorry. Whatever occurred, this was not intentional. It wasn't our intention. We feel sorry for those parents who didn't get the proper service. We're sorry for that."
Mir said his wife worked as a doctor in Pakistan and is a licensed sonographer in Ontario.
Adeelmir's biography was listed on the BabyView website on Wednesday morning, but the 'About Us' page on the site has since been removed.
Tom Hayward, former executive director of Sonography Canada, told CTV News that 3D baby imaging is considered "entertainment sonography" and is not regulated in Ontario.
He noted that Sonography Canada, The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and the Canadian Association of Radiologists are not proponents of 3D images as it's not medically necessary.
Mom describes 'disappointment' and 'anxiety' over images
Multiple women have sent CTVNews.ca what appears to be the same ultrasound image that they received from the clinic after their appointment along with invoices from the sessions.
Cusimano said she called the clinic on Tuesday and was told she could return for more images, free of charge.
She initially paid $160 for the session – money that she borrowed from her mother and later paid back.
"I've pretty much had no sleep, I've been up all night shaking," Cusimano said. "The anxiety, the stress, the disappointment. I can't even begin to imagine how someone could do this or even think they could get away with it, in this day and age."
Two women have emailed CTVNews.ca photos from their 3D ultrasound that appear to be the identical images that are being used on the BabyView 3D Prenatal Imaging website. The photos in question are the first two pictures used in the composite image on the left.
Cusimano said she never saw a clear image of the baby during the ultrasound. She was told to wait in a waiting room, and about five minutes later the sonographer emerged with a photo that she believed was of her son.
“Her exact words were, ‘I just cleaned it up a little bit’,” Cusimano said.
She said at the time, she thought the sonographer had removed some of the blurriness from the image.
“But I thought it was weird,” she added.
Since Cusimano posted about the replica photo on Facebook, a number of other parents have come forward with similar claims.
Parent Kyle Buxton said while accompanying his wife to an ultrasound at BabyView on May 13, what he saw on the screen "didn’t represent a baby at all."
"The baby's face was blurred,” he told CTVNews.ca. “(The sonographer) kept saying the baby was buried in the stomach.”
Buxton said he was reassured by the sonographer that she would improve the images.
"When she came out, she said she enhanced the photos, and they looked great," Buxton said.
The couple received three photos as part of the $214 package they purchased from BabyView.
He said what appear to be identical images of all three photos have since been shared by other parents online.
Buxton suspects all three photos are of different babies.
"I was a little suspicious at first, but I thought, 'It could just be the angle'," he said. "You don't think someone is going to do this."
Buxton said he has filed a fraud complaint with his credit card company and a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and his wife has filed a police report.
A number of parents who suspect they've received replica images from the BabyView clinic have received offers from other clinics for a free or discounted session.
Meanwhile, Cusimano says she hopes by coming forward about her experience no other expecting parents will go through the same experience.
"What if, God forbid, you lose your baby and that's the only picture you have," she said
