 Better communication in the health sciences
I t’s hard to imagine an education or a career in the life sciences without pictures. From anatomy and physiology to cell and molecular biology, pathology to biochemistry (OK, maybe not biochemistry), there are few concepts, structures, or functions that are not better understood with the help of a good diagram—or animation for that matter. Time and again, artist interpretations have proven their worth in scientific communication. Why then are pictures used so sparingly — and often not at all — to communicate important medical science concepts by the Canadian healthcare industry? From patient education brochures and Websites to continuing medical education (CME) courses, from research results to investor relations, we're expected to read text in order understand the affliction, the procedure, the breakthrough. Pictures are relatively rare when compared with the reams of textual information used to communicate important ideas about health and disease. For all we know about the power of images, those charged with delivering messages too seldom leverage our natural capacity for visual learning.,
Artists who specialize in biomedical science
There is certainly no shortage of scientific artists to call on in this country. The University of Toronto (UofT) has been training biomedical illustrators since 1945 and now grants MSc. degrees each year to 16 graduates of the Biomedical Communications (BMC) [link] program. These individuals often arrive in BMC with backgrounds in subjects ranging from cell biology to biochemistry, physiology to genetics. Once enrolled in the program, they're schooled in anatomy and embryology (alongside UofT med students), immunology, and pathology. They train rigorously in the techniques and theory — both traditional and new media — needed to illustrate these subjects clearly and accurately. Graduates leave BMC with the same practical skills as well-trained commercial illustrators and animators, but with a deep understanding and appreciation of medical and related science.
They live among us: in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, and many points between. And few of them illustrate textbooks — the oft-presumed occupation of medical illustrators. They work for surgeons, hospitals, drug companies, and a whole slew of businesses that make training and marketing materials for the healthcare industry.
AXS Biomedical Animation Studio
AXS Biomedical Animation Studio [link] — which I co-founded in 2004 with fellow BMC grads Eddy Xuan [link] and Sonya Amin [link] — creates computer animation and interactive media (Flash animation for the Web) for the clients listed above, and more. Our visualizations of anatomy, cells, pathogens, and molecules for the TV show, ReGenesis [link], earned AXS a Gemini Award nomination in 2006.
Figure 1. ReGenesis: neurons infected with a virus.
For three seasons, we created dozens of animations to show the audience what the crafty TV scientists were talking about. In addition to understanding the science—which is why producer Christina Jennings hired AXS for ReGenesis—we approach scientific communication through a cinematic lens, applying the techniques of Hollywood animation and special effects to stories of science and medicine. Our knack for making esoteric biomedical subjects beautiful and understandable continues to bring us work in film and television, including projects with Discovery Health, NOVA, and others.
Figure 2. AXS Studio visualizes scientific hypotheses for TV documentaries.
Case Studies
While AXS is becoming known for our unique cinematic visions of cellular and molecular worlds, much our work is more stripped-down and didactic. For instance, when a high degree of realism and detail isn't called for, we take a more stylized approach to images — often reducing complexity to the level of cartoons. Two examples of this approach are found in Websites we created for the CNIB [link] and healthyontario.com [link] to educate the public about glaucoma and diabetes, respectively.
Figure 3. Cell biology for the general public.
Figure 4. Cartoons are instructive and engaging.
The illustrations and animations are much simplified, compared with what we might create for a MD audience — accurate, without the gore! As cartoons, they bring an element of fun to the learning experience, engaging the audience in characters and stories. As pictures, they bring immediate clarity to the accompanying text. Another excellent example of biomedical visuals in a disease awareness setting is aboutkidshealth.ca [link], produced by the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. The site explains child physiology and common illnesses using concise text with clear visuals. I know parents personally who benefited from the animations as they researched their daughter's congenital heart defect. Only when they saw the beating heart illustrated, did they grasp their daughter's situation, and the knowledge brought some comfort.
For people who recognize the teaching value of images, the CNIB, healthyOntario.com, and Sick Kids examples are encouraging. Nonetheless, there are countless examples of health/disease awareness efforts (online and in print) that are largely text based — paragraph after paragraph that could be so nicely summed up, or at least enhanced, by a handful of engaging pictures. If the message is important enough to publish — if it really matters — then visuals should be incorporated.
We’ve had the privilege of working with pharmaceutical companies, biotechs, and others in private industry to visualize drug actions, novel technologies, and patient services (genetic counseling, for example). We enjoy them all, but the biotechs often stand out as particularly good examples of how visualization can help. A recent project began with a 177-page Powerpoint file (no kidding) and, through meetings with the scientists and marketing team became a series of illustrations and animations that explained the technology and intellectual property to potential investors and partners. Furthermore, the completed Figures provided the employees, for the first time, an overview of their development platform and products. The visuals enabled all parties to “see” the whole picture and the details together.
Figure 5. Good visuals can help simplify and explain complex laboratory processes — in this case, part of a drug development platform.
Figure 6. From bench to clinic: here we see the effect on a patient of the drug developed in Figure 5.
The process of creating images can even provide new insight to a scientific problem and force us to rethink our assumptions and conclusions. When artists work with scientists to visualize leading-edge research, questions invariably arise about how tissues, cell, molecules, what have you, are organized and how they interact — so that they can be illustrated correctly. Since much of this structural and organizational detail is often yet to be discovered, the visualization process drives further thinking and stimulates imagination. In this way, visualization can indeed be part of the discovery process, and not simply a depiction of what's well established.
Budget for visuals
Often times, visuals are excluded from a project for budget reasons. This isn't necessarily because pictures are expensive, but rather due to the fact that they weren't considered in the budget planning stage. A good communications plan — whether outreach for grant-funded research, investor relations, disease awareness, or CME course — should budget for visuals from the onset. Professionals like the team at AXS can help with the planning process. Finding an illustrator, animator, or new media artist is easy. BMC can connect you with alumni and post your project on its Job Board for all to see. The Medical Illustration Sourcebook and Association of Medical Illustrators Web sites let you search for an illustrator, animator, or new media artist by name, subject specialty, location, and other criteria.
Visuals work
People are drawn to images—they're hard to ignore. A picture or animation, when done well, can communicate ideas quickly and effectively — in ways not possible with text alone. Their value in health science communication is undeniable — from educating our future nurses and doctors to relating the latest findings in molecular biology. Visuals work and I encourage you to use them.
Jason is Co-Creative Director of AXS Biomedical Animation Studio and holds a BSc in mechanical engineering, a BFA, and an MScBMC. He is the co-author of In Silico: Cell biology animation and simulation with Maya and MEL [link] published in 2008 by Morgan Kauffman. All images copyright © 2008 AXS Biomedical Animation Studio. All rights reserved.
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