About Us

1. How long has the facility been open? Since 2005, eleven 3D/4D ultrasound facilities have opened in the Greater Houston area; sadly, nearly half have already closed their doors, with yet another under new management.  Experience is one of the most important factors in ensuring the comfort of your procedure, the clarity of the pictures you receive, and the confidence you can take in knowing that your provider will still be in business when you arrive for your appointment.  Since our opening in the fall of 2005, we have had the fortunate occasion to share in the miracle of life with over 8,000 loving families.  Approximately 36% of our new customers are referrals, and we’re seeing more and more of our Mommys on their second (and even third) pregnancy everyday! Our families travel from as far away as Lafayette and Waco… why? Because our familiarity and attention to detail has earned us the reputation as Southeast Texas’ oldest and most respected 3D/4D ultrasound facility!

When you choose The Inside Story Ultrasound, you’re choosing the ultrasound facility that physicians choose – not only for their patients, but for themselves.  We have welcomed General Practitioner Mommys, Neurologist Mommys, Cardiologist Mommys, and Obstetrician/Gynecologist Mommys into our growing family of customers; and because of our high standards, have a network of over 450 referring OB/GYNs, many of which exclusively send their expectant parents to us.

2. What kind of environment do they offer? The 3D/4D experience should be a memorable one – one that is enjoyed by and shared with family and friends. It is important to us that we provide a warm and comfortable setting… after all, seeing your baby’s face for the first time is a pretty big deal! The facility should be safe and easy to access, not crammed in a busy mall or strip center; and your session should take place in a spacious private studio, not in an adjunct to the waiting area. Your guests should be able to relax in their own space and not have to fight for the best position. Many facilities offer a “theater style” studio, only to deliver a cramped space for 3 or 4 with poor seating and angular views.

When you choose The Inside Story Ultrasound, your friends and family will enjoy what many of our guests have called a “tranquil” atmosphere with comfortable seating and 3 strategically-placed monitors for viewing baby at any angle. Our experience has shown that bigger isn’t always better. The larger the projection screen, the less defined the projected image; our 50” digital monitor provides deeper tones, sharper lines, and optimizes clarity. Our studio holds 9 adults, and we have also a designated a play area for the kids. This is a fun and exciting time for big brother and big sister – the volumised images of “their” baby help make the pregnancy more real to them.

3. Do they have a Return Policy? If you’ve never experienced 3D/4D ultrasound, you might assume that every session will produce “website-quality” images. While true in most cases, many factors influence the clarity of the pictures, including gestational age, Mommy’s tissue density, location of the placenta, amount of amniotic fluid, and baby’s position. Remember, your baby is sleeping anywhere from 20-22 hours a day, so isn’t it unfair to be charged an additional fee if no pictures can be obtained? Many facilities don’t offer a return policy, thereby hedging their inability to get good images the first time. With that, it is vitally important to employ the services of an ultrasound facility that not only has the acumen to obtain difficult images the first time, but is willing to assume some of the risk in the event that they don’t.

When you choose The Inside Story Ultrasound, our number one goal is to satisfy you, and that includes first providing the best possible pictures and video of your baby. If we cannot get baby to cooperate, our commitment to you is we will bring you back at NO CHARGE to try again. (*Not applicable to promotional vouchers*)

4. How qualified are the technicians? They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, and we take it as a testament toward our penchant for quality, patient care, and professionalism that a number of our own customers (and even a few of our acquaintances) saw in our business model an opportunity to open their own 3D/4D ultrasound facilities. We live in a competitive marketplace, and iron sharpens iron… so welcome! However, to the consumer and the industry as a whole lies a great risk in the “mass-manufacturing” of the diagnostic ultrasound facility. Unscrupulous “licensors” pop up in nearly every state, selling medical device business opportunities like sandwich shops or cell phone kiosks. Little to no regard is given to state laws or FDA regulations as long as the investor can pay for a used machine and a few days of “training” at a handsome sum… again, not all facilities are created equally. How experienced are the technicians? How long have they been working in the 3D/4D format? It is a little known fact that the techniques used as an operator in the 3D/4D mode are much different than those of planar or layered ultrasound. An operator may have years of experience in traditional 2D medical sonography, but be unable to give you the best images in the 3D format. What is their success rate in obtaining quality images the first time? Are the images the company displays procured in their studio? Were they copied and pasted from the web, included in the package from the files of the parent licensor, or are they images of their own baby taken in our office? Is the operator ARDMS Certified or RDMS-eligible, or did he or she get some franchise’s proprietary certification? Who reviews their files? Are they supervised by a licensed practitioner? Do they follow the ALARA principle as set forth by the AIUM?

When you choose The Inside Story Ultrasound, you are choosing to receive higher standards of care, better images, and enhanced practices. We are widely recognized for our commitment to quality and methods of service. To ensure our stature, we employ Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographers and ARDMS-eligible technicians, and are uninterrupted members in good standing of the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers. All our sonographers have been through a rigorous training specifically designed for 3D/4D ultrasound, know the bioeffects considerations for diagnostic ultrasound, and adhere to all intensity peramaters. We are one of the few free-standing 3D/4D ultrasound facilities serving the Greater Houston area that invests in certified technicians, and that is why the OB/GYN community overwhelmingly recommends us. Even though there may be diagnostic ultrasound centers in their immediate geographies, many Obstetricians still recommend that their patients make the drive to The Galleria/Greenway Plaza area for the true professionals. We take pride in pampering each and every family as you experience the miracle of 3D/4D ultrasound, detailing baby’s anatomy in a manner that you can easily interpret and understand.

5. Is there medical oversight? Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said it best: “Ultrasound equipment is an amazing technological tool that, in properly trained hands, can offer significant benefits for the health of unborn babies and their mothers, as well as giving us a window into the wonder and preciousness of human life… but like other medical equipment and devices, ultrasound machines are not toys and must be used only with physician oversight and approval.” FACT: There is no such thing as a “Certified 3D/4D Provider”. Certified by whom? There is no recognized association that offers accreditations to 3D/4D imaging providers. There is no AIUM-recognized “Certificate of Completion” obtained through any franchise training program, nor does any federal regulatory agency recognize a single “Association of Accredited Facilit(ies)”. An embossed seal on the homepage of a website may look very official – but in truth, it isn’t worth the computer it was designed on. At The Inside Story Ultrasound, we have chosen to exceed the State of Texas and the Department of Health and Human Services mandate for medical oversight. A most recent audit found us compliant and in good standing; however, very few local elective ultrasound facilities are. Most have no licensed practitioner to oversee their risky practices, most don’t file Title 21 device reports, or even know what a Medwatch form is… sadly, the few that do have only done so under recent threat of FDA detention.

At The Inside Story Ultrasound, each patient’s files are randomized, read, and reviewed for accuracy by our Medical Director, Dr. Rakhi Chaudhuri Dimino, M.D. Dr. Dimino is board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology, enjoying a successful group practice with Women’s Care Associates in the Texas Medical Center and Pearland. Originally from Ohio, Dr. Dimino graduated with honors from Northwestern University with dual degrees in Biology and Journalism. She attended the prestigious Ohio State University College of Medicine, and completed her residency at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Dr. Dimimo moved to Texas with her husband in 2006, and has two children; but Dr. Dimimo is not just a partner, she’s also a patient – we both saw her daughter for the very first time right here in our facility! Our commitment to care was one of the deciding factors that influenced Dr. Dimino to entrust her baby’s ultrasound to us, and to take over the reigns from our outgoing Medical Director. We are so pleased and honored to welcome such a gifted researcher and peer-reviewed author to the Inside Story Ultrasound team.

Did you have your 3D/4D appointment rescheduled due to “equipment malfunction”? Was your appointment cancelled because the provider was “remodeling”? The Food and Drug Administration is more stringently enforcing medical oversight compliance, and punishing violations of the Texas Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act through detention, closure and heavy fines.  We’re happy to serve this growing population of disaffected patients, but why take a chance with your service –  why take a chance with your baby’s safety?

These and other factors add to the growing number of Mommys that come to our office disappointed after visiting other 3D/4D facilities. While we appreciate the business, we are greatly saddened, because seeing your baby for the first time should be a memorable experience – one filled with wonderment and joy. It should be a time for families to see if baby has Daddy’s nose or Mommy’s lips, Paw-Paw’s ears, or Nana’s cheeks… not a time to question your decision to have the procedure done in the first place. When you choose The Inside Story Ultrasound, you can feel confident that we will do whatever it takes to ensure that this ultrasound is one of the most memorable experiences of your pregnancy. We trust that you will find our packages affordable and the service unrivalled! So we guess it’s true, not all 3D/4D ultrasound providers are created equally. From website verbiage to package pricing, from patient forms and disclosures to overall business practices, The Inside Story Ultrasound continues to set the standards by which other facilities follow… literally! If you are looking for the cheapest ultrasound package, we may not be the right choice for you; but if safety matters, if you are looking for the best experience, administered by caring and professional technicians, we promise you’ll find that and more at The Inside Story Ultrasound.

Congratulations on your pregnancy, we look forward to seeing you soon!