A new concept for an artificial womb has offered an interesting glimpse at what the future of baby-making could look like, depicting an incubator that operates from out of the parent(s) home.
The concept shows how “similar products may be the future of surrogacy and pregnancy,” according to creators Futurism. It depicts a retrofuturistic incubator, shaped like an egg and complete with a transparent shell, which allows the developing fetus to be fully viewable.
Alongside this incubator, Futurism has also conceptualized a slow in which food of the parent(s) can be distributed into the artificial womb, while they can also communicate with the unborn baby using a separate microphone. This microphone allows the user to communicate with the baby as they are developing.
Take a look at the artificial incubator concept below:
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This concept is obviously not being brought to market, and comparable technology remains a long way off from becoming a potential reality. However, earlier this year a team of researchers managed to successfully design an artificial womb for animals for the first time ever, with doctors at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) managed to successfully grow a lamb in a vessel that could potentially be used as incubation for human babies in the future.
The study, published in Nature Communications (via The Guardian), revealed how a “biobag” had been used in order to keep a lamb fetus in the conditions needed for it to grow. While the study’s authors stated that the technology was not able to support a baby through the entirety of its gestation, it would be able to help babies that had been born prematurely.
Featured Image Credit: Futurism
Paul Tamburro is Crave’s UK, Tech and Gaming Editor. Follow him on Twitter @PaulTamburro.
