During the past decade, the technology of ultrasound services has expanded to allow for 4-D imaging, said Patti Justice, owner of Blooming Pregnancy Spa and Imaging Center, located at 5601 Brodie Lane, Ste. 650, in Austin.

A 4-D image is a series of still photographs in motion, she said. Since the imaging involves only soundwaves, there is no risk to the mother or child, she said.

Justice said her business, which has been open for four years, only performs physician-approved prenatal scans for elective reasons. Justice said a registered diagnostic medical sonographer, or RDMS, conducts the sonogram.

"[The RDMS designation] is the same gold standard a hospital would require of a technician," said Justice, who also offers prenatal massages at her facility.

Stenographers Nicole and Derwin Volpacchio started Bios 4D Imaging, located at 325 S. RR 620, Ste. 100B, in Lakeway, in 2011 as a portable ultrasound diagnostic service that is able to bring imaging services to patients in medical offices, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers.

He said his company focuses on a variety of diagnostic specialties, from determining a patient's artery blockages to whether a baby has a cleft palate.

"We are not for entertainment," Derwin Volpacchio said. "We look at high-risk situations."