Using 3D Animation for Easy Medical Explanation

Creating breakthrough medical products is no easy task. Demonstrating how they work to the general public can be just as difficult. Luckily, Trinity Animation is here to help. With over 30 years of experience animating medical products and procedures, we have the tools and know-how to make sure your medical demonstrations come across crystal clear. 

Why Medical Animation Matters

Medical devices are often complex, and explaining how they work can be just as challenging as designing them.  That’s where Trinity Animation’s medical animation services make the difference.  By transforming medical processes into clear, engaging visuals, our 3D animation services help clients understand how a device should be used quickly and accurately.  

The benefits of 3D medical animation go far beyond simplifying instructions.  These visual tools can:

• Improve patient education by breaking down procedures into easy-to-follow steps
• Support healthcare professionals through repeatable, accurate demonstrations
• Boost marketing and sales efforts for medical device companies with compelling visuals
• Save time and reduce errors by ensuring correct use of complex devices

Partnering with Love Lifesciences 

We’ve recently partnered with Love Lifesciences to demonstrate how to properly use their latest insulin injection pen, the UniPen. They came to us wanting to create an easy to understand yet appealing animated video that went through the process of using the UniPen step by step. 

How We Created the Medical Animation Scene

To get started, we first had to bring out the animated star of the show. We call her “Mom.” She’s a fully rigged character from head to toe with a complex facial rig capable of making a great smile and realistic movement. She had the same family friendly appeal just like the big Hollywood animation studios. The Love Lifesciences team was absolutely head over heels for her. 

Next, we had to prep the UniPen for “Mom” to be able to hold, inspect and use. This involved adding realistic materials and applying accurate labels. We used V-Ray materials and decals because of their photo-realistic qualities and ease of use. Faster application means less work and less budget waste! That’s just one of the ways Trinity Animation helps save you money. We also created custom precision controls for the device so the plunger could slide up and down, the cap could twist on and off, and the needle shield could compress and decompress.

Next was set dressing. We went with a modern kitchen design complete with an island that could seamlessly move in and out of the way of the camera. We went with a more mono-chromatic color scheme so “Mom” and the UniPen could be the center of attention and not compete with the background. 

Animating the Medical Demonstration

We animated each step of the process exactly how it was scripted. We first animated “Mom” picking up and inspecting the UniPen. It was a little tricky having both hands hold the pen, but with some animation magic, we were able to pull it off. After having “Mom” showcase proper sites for injection, we used the custom controls we added to the UniPen to have her remove the cap from the device. 

The next step where she inserts the needle also gave us a unique challenge. “Mom” needed to squish her belly with her fingers so the UniPen could give a proper injection. This involved what we call in the business, creating a morph target. We essentially made a duplicate version of her belly and molded it to have a spot of pinched skin.  Then we animated the original belly to transform into the duplicate version, giving off the illusion that she was pinching her skin in real time. 

Then it was time for her to give the injection. Using the custom controls once again, we were able to time her thumb movements with the plunger so they both moved together in unison. Finally we had “Mom” dispose of the UniPen the proper way featuring a great representational sharps disposal bin. 

Rendering and Final Touches

After animating, it was onto rendering and compositing. We use V-Ray for both our materials and rendering. Why V-Ray? It’s fast, reliable and the rendered frames are always consistent, once again saving time and money. Once the rendered animation is complete, we bring it into After Effects to add the voice over along with subtitles. We also added beginning and end card graphics to showcase the UniPen up front in all its detail. We added glowing blue spots to help the audience identify where proper injections sites are on the human body. Last, but certainly not least, we added a nice and professional background track to help keep the audience’s attention, feel relaxed and not distract from the crucial information being presented. 

Results that Deliver

With many moving parts, it takes a dedicated team of computer animators to keep it all organized and bring it together. The animation team here at Trinity Animation worked in unison to create a professional, informative animated video that’s appealing and easy to understand. 

Love Lifesciences absolutely loved the finished product and you can see it for yourself at their website, lovelifesciences.com.

Bring Your Medical Product to Life

If you have your own breakthrough medical product but don’t know how to properly explain it to your audience, give Trinity Animation a call! We can help take your complex design and transform it into an easy to understand medical animation.

Contact us today to start your project and see how we can transform your medical device into a clear and compelling medical animation. 

Call: 816-525-0103

Email: sales@trinityanimation.com

Click Here to Submit a Project Request

Blog Post written by Byron Pockrandt