From medical students to healthcare marketers, there are many different kinds of people who can benefit from medical animation. If you’ve ever watched a video depicting any type of physiology or surgery, then you’ve seen this type of educational content at work.

Thanks to innovations in the medical technology sector, the applications for medical animation are more extensive and wide-ranging than ever before. Today, we’re sharing everything you need to know about this exciting and expansive field.

How Does Medical Animation Work?

At the most basic level, 3D medical animation is a type of short film. The content is created using 3D graphics that have been formatted to explain some type of healthcare-related concept.

While the same type of material may be covered in textbooks or online articles, these videos help break down complicated subjects in ways that are easier to grasp. According to one study, 65% of people are visual learners, meaning that they retain information best when it’s presented in pictures or videos.

Who Uses It?

Depending on the type of content depicted, 3D imaging and animation can have many different uses throughout the medical field. For instance, professors may use it to complement their material when teaching prospective students. These videos can be especially helpful when explaining intricate surgical procedures, for instance.

In the same vein, physicians will often use 3D animation to explain healthcare concepts to their patients. In this way, they can be used alongside digital X-rays or other images to give patients a clearer understanding of what’s going on, and how a proposed treatment will work.

Finally, medical animation also has a place in the healthcare marketing field. While the topics covered won’t be as in-depth in nature, they can help professionals in this industry understand high-level concepts so they can better connect with partners and colleagues alike.

The Different Types of Medical Animation

Depending on the content creator and the intended audience, 3D medical animation can take many different forms. Let’s take a look at a few of the most common types.

Surgical Training Videos

As mentioned, some animations explain how to perform various types of surgeries. While medical students are an obvious audience, experienced physicians will also reference these videos to sharpen their skills and prepare for an upcoming procedure.

Many times, surgical training videos will include some type of hands-on component. For instance, you might find some that incorporate virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR), which allows surgeons to interact with the content and manipulate certain outcomes.

Patient Education Videos

Patient videos are designed to be simple enough for anyone to understand. These animations can help explain basic medical concepts, such as how a surgery is performed or the way that a pharmaceutical drug will interact with one’s body.

A few of the places you might find these animations include:

  • Physician websites
  • Doctor’s offices
  • Online, health-centric websites
  • Television commercials
  • Social media platforms
  • Medical animation websites

This is a rapidly-growing field, due in large part to growing requirements around patient transparency and informed consent.

Medical Simulation Videos

In decades pasts, physicians would rely on live patients or animals to serve as test subjects to practice certain anatomical or surgical concepts. Yet, the number of subjects willing to give consent has diminished, as has the availability of cadavers.

As such, they’ve turned to medical simulation videos to get the same type of firsthand experience as they learn new skills and attempt new procedures. While this might seem like a step back, it’s actually opened new doors in the medical training field.

Animated simulations deliver real-time results that allow physicians to see how a specific change will trigger a reaction in a living patient’s body. They can be interactive or passive in nature.

Molecular Animation Videos

Within the human microbiome, there are 39 trillion microbes. These microscopic organisms are responsible for controlling the way our bodies break down food, defend against viruses, turn over cells, and much more.

While these processes are fascinating, most are too small for the human eye to visualize. This is where medical animation comes in. With this technology, physicians can get an up-close-and-personal view of these microscopic interactions, including DNA transcription and pathogenic interactions.

This practice can help them unlock new discoveries and understand critical molecular interactions.

Forensic Animations

A “virutopsy” is a special type of autopsy that’s performed using MRI technology. This procedure, which also relies on medical animation, can assist in instances where a human body is not in the proper condition to perform a conventional autopsy.

In addition to helping uncover the cause of death in an individual, a virutopsy may also be used to reconstruct criminal events or crime scenes in a legal case. While some judges may question the admissibility of such evidence, these models are becoming more common.

Pharmaceutical Animations

Any time a pharmaceutical company develops a new drug, it’s imperative to understand how the ingredients will interact with the human body. When patients visit a company’s website or YouTube page, they can view medical animations that explain these processes in laymen’s terms.

While the details won’t be on a highly intricate molecular level, they will outline the simple interactions that prospective patients need to know. In most cases, this means showing how the drug molecules will interact with their cells. While medical patients are the most common audience, marketing companies and even physicians will reference these videos to understand drug interactions more clearly.

What Does the Future Hold For Medical Animation?

On a near-daily basis, medical technology is becoming more sophisticated and tech-savvy. Automation is no longer a nice-to-have feature but is a mainstay in physician offices around the country.

As medical animation continues to become more feature-rich and informative, we can expect to see it in more applications and environments. From doctor workstations to pharmaceutical websites, take a look at these videos the next time you need to understand a complicated health concept or interaction.

In the meantime, we’re here with all the health, business, and lifestyle news you need. Be sure to check back often for more informative guides!