Street Anatomy

Quick Note

I’m sorry for the lack of posts on Street Anatomy over the last few days. The artic freeze here in Chicago has finally gotten to me and I’ve been fighting a cold.

This is a computer model of the common cold rhinovirus. It contains 60 binding sites capable of connecting to a receptor called ICAM-1 (intracellular adhesion molecule -1) on our upper respiratory epithelial cells located in the lining of the nasopharynx. It enters the nasopharynx through the nose and the eyes (via the nasolacrimal duct). Because the nasopharynx lies above the oropharynx, the mouth is not usually a entry point for the cold virus. So kissing normally can’t spread the virus. Phew!

Quick Note

I’ve now allowed anyone to post comments. Apparently I only allowed registered users to comment before. Thanks to NCurse at ScienceRoll for letting me know that!

Medical Animatics Named Official Provider Of Performance Enhancement Training Technology For Usa Diving

[Article via DMN Newswire]

DMN Newswire–2007-1-20–INDIANAPOLIS – USA Diving has named Medical Animatics, Inc., a national leader in the production of scientific and medical visualizations, as its official provider of performance enhancement training technology, CEO Debbie Hesse announced Wednesday.

As the performance enhancement training technology provider, Medical Animatics will provide interactive and portable training for coaches and divers at a discounted rate. Combining cutting-edge animation and video, Medical Animatics puts complex training information in the hands of the athletes, with training viewed from a range of digital media, including web applications and hand-held iPods.

“The sophistication and popularity of today’s hand-held devices create the ideal platform from which to teach complex information using visual media,” said Harlon J. Wilson, Medical Animatics, Inc President and CEO. “We are excited to bring our expertise and technology to the support of USA Diving.”

Continue reading the rest of the article here.

Outsourcing Medical Animation: Should we be worried?

Over the past few years India has become a major player in the outsourcing of services from big businesses here in the U.S. In fact, the U.S. makes up about 70% of the global outsourcing market.¹ (I’m guessing the U.K. makes up most of the other 30%).

Animation is just one of the services being outsourced. Companies such as Sony, Imax, Warner Brothers, and yes even Walt Disney, are having many of their animation projects completed overseas. And guess what? Big pharma and medical equipment manufacturers have caught on. If companies can outsource regular animation, then why not outsource medical animation?

Medical animation is expensive. A single animation can cost $60,000 and take months to produce. In India, the same animation can be done in half the time at a quarter of the price.

Here’s a little comparative stat. A software designer in the U.S has an average earning of $60 per hour. In India, a comparable software designer makes only $6.00 per hour.¹

However, animation studios in India don’t charge by the hour like they do in the U.S. That’s why they can run 24 hour studios employing many animators working around the clock to complete a project.

Cheaper rates for the same work are what are driving the desire to outsource. According to the Hindu Business Line²

The global non-entertainment animation industry, including work in scientific and medical animation, now accounts for revenues worth $15 billion.

With that number in mind, demand for skilled animators in India is growing. The Toonskool Animation Academy in Bangalore is one such school training future animators and medical animators. And there are numerous firms in India dedicated to creating medical animation and illustration. And it’s not just India. The Philippines, China, Russia, and Egypt are just a few out of many others competing to get U.S. outsourcing projects.

With the benefits of outsourcing come the associated risks. Businesses must be careful to send critical inside information to places halfway around the world. There are security issues. Egypt has a harder time competing for outsourcing due to conflicts and instability in their region. There is also a lack of intellectual property laws in most of these countries.

So the question then becomes, will outsourcing hurt medical illustrators and animators? Probably not. But in the near future it just might. With medical animations becoming more dynamic and complex and with demand growing in both the educational and research markets, outsourcing may become a viable option for companies. What do you think? Are we in danger of losing jobs to a cheaper workforce capable of providing services in a shorter amount of time?

Sources:

1. Greene, W. (2006) Growth in services outsourcing to India: Propellant or drain on the U.S. economy?, Office of Economics Working Paper. U.S. International Trade Commission.

2. Prayag, A. (2005) Medical animation gaining importance. Hindu Business Line

Go Bears!

I recently became a football fan this season, which just happens to coincide with my hometown team, the Bears, doing exceptionally well.

I love watching the game, especially now that I know the rules, the whole thing just makes more sense. But I also like to watch from an anatomical perspective. The strength, agility, and endurance of these players is astounding, but what fascinates me the most is the amount of force and strain these players can endure on their bodies.

In Sunday night’s playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks, Bears backup wide receiver (still don’t know what that means) Mark Bradley, injured his right ankle during the second quarter. I watched as he limped toward the sideline and collapsed in pain just before getting off the field. During the replay you could see Bradley being tackled step by painful step, and you could see his right ankle being twisted and crushed under the weight of the other players. Everyone in the sports bar let out a unanimous painful groan as they sympathized with his agony.

During the half time injury report they flashed a medical illustration of an ankle and gave a quick description of an ankle sprain. The illustration was something along the lines of the illustration below.

I was excited to see a medical illustration pop up during an NFL broadcast, no one else in the bar though seemed to care. It made me think, what if instead of an illustration, there was a dynamic animation showing the ankle being sprained or broken? With all of the flashy visuals involved in the broadcast of an NFL game, why not add a cool medical animation to the injury report? Grab the attention of those football fans and make them wince in pain as they see the replay of the player being injured accompanied by an animation showing the underlying anatomy being damaged as well. Just a thought.

To give you an idea of the type of animation that I’m talking about, take a look at some of the 3D animations produced by Anatomical Travelogue, a 3D medical animation studio based in New York. Their animations show the anatomy of football players in real time, getting tackled, running, breathing, etc.

Broadcast these during the injury reports, and get people interested in anatomy. They might just learn something or even better, become inspired.