As parents, we would sell everything we own to make sure that our children are healthy and safe, but it was something very inexpensive that came to one little baby’s rescue recently.

 

A $20 virtual reality gadget made from cardboard has been credited with saving a four-month-old’s life.

 

American baby Teegan Lexcen was born in August with just one lung and only half a heart. It was a first for doctors treating the tot, and they needed a detailed examination of her heart in order to progress with treatment.

 

The medical team planned to make a 3-D model of the baby’s heart, but on the day they planned to do so, the hospital’s printers were out of action. Not wanting to delay the examination, a member of the team suggested using Google Cardboard instead.

 

 

For those unfamiliar with Google Cardboard, it’s basically a set of cardboard goggles that you attach to your mobile phone, that enables you to see 3-D virtual images.

 

Using this technique, the medical team was able to produce the required 3-D images of Teegan’s heart, then download them onto a phone using a sketching app, Sketchfab.

 

The alternative method was an absolute success – cardiologist Dr Redmond Burke was able to examine Teegan’s heart from every angle and proceed with her treatment plan.

 

Speaking to CNN, Teegan’s mother Cassidy described the whole process as “mind-blowing”: “To see this little cardboard box and a phone, and to think this is what saved our daughter’s life.”

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