Medical Animation: A growing industry
A medical animation is a short educational film, usually based around a physiological or surgical topic, rendered using 3D computer graphics. While it may be intended for a variety of audiences, medical animation is most commonly utilized as an instructional tool for medical professionals or their patients.
Check out this video demo of animation used in medicine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnpLm9fzYxU
Medical animation helps a doctor to explain to his patients how things work inside the human body, and how the suggested procedure would help him/her to treat the cause of ailment. This also helps the doctors reduce the patients’ anxiety levels and address their fears.
For example, if a doctor need to explain a disease like cancer, he would normally put it as “Cancer is a term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and can invade nearby tissues. Cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems which can prove fatal”. However, by watching the below animated video, a patient can get a very clear idea of what cancer is all about
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEpTTolebqo
Let us now understand in brief what are the steps involved in executing this video.
Animation can be used in the medical & pharmaceutical sectors for educational purposes, demonstrations, simulation of surgeries, analysis and comparative evaluation of treatment, etc. As an animators for the medical industry, you can:
- Demonstrate how drugs work in the bloodstream and body
- Design macroscopic and microscopic interactive models of the human body
- Present patient data in the form of 3D visual images
- Design instructional materials for medical students
- Explain with animation how a medical equipment, surgical procedure or technique will work.
Some of the leading production houses in this genre are:
- www.hybridmedicalanimation.com
- www.xvivo.net
- www.argosymedical.com
- www.medical-animations.com
- www.ghostproductions.com
- www.axs3D.com
- www.scientificanimations.com
- www.artdigitized.com
- www.3Dlabz.com
- www.markivmedical.com
- www.io-media.com
To sum up, the medical animation industry is constantly evolving, thanks to innovation in the medical sector. This implies ample scope and newer opportunities for skilled professionals. You can be an in-demand medical animation expert too, with the right training and passion to succeed!
