MAKE A MEDICAL ANIMATION
JOEL DUBIN AND GARY WELCH OF MADMICROBE SHARE THEIR TOP TIPS FOR LIFE SCIENCE VISUALISATION
DYNAMIC BLOOD CLOTS
For complex animations of blood cells collecting and building up inside a blood vessel to form a ruptured plaque, start by modelling the end state of the cells in the scene. Create all the red blood cells, activated platelets, and white blood cells in their final resting place, then use dynamics like a small fan to blow away the top cells moving down to the bottom cells. Bake the simulation keyframes and then select and time reverse the keyframes to create a buildup of blood cells.
ACCURATE MOLECULAR MODELS
The Protein Data Bank (rcsb.org) is an online resource containing data on thousands of molecules, which can be imported into your 3D software via several plugins and software packages. Using the plugin EPMV we can import a molecular model into Cinema 4D, and then clone it onto a sphere to begin the process of building our animation.
OPTIMISE YOUR SCENES
Multitudes of complex models can be rendered in a scene by creating LOD versions of your models. The low-resolution versions are placed in the distance, medium-resolution models in the mid-ground, and a few high-resolution models in the foreground. Some applications have a LOD function that automatically switches between versions based on their distance from the camera. Start by modelling the low-resolution versions of your models first for easier UV mapping and rigging.
SOFTBODY DYNAMICS
Use low-polygon cage objects that mimic the shape of high-resolution models to create dynamic simulations, cache the simulation, then swap in your high-polygon models, or better yet the LOD versions of your more complex models.
CREATE TILEABLE CELLULAR SURFACE AND VESSEL MODELS
Create 3D models to be like 2D patterns. Build 3D models that can be tiled or repeated seamlessly in 3D space like a 2D texture map can be tiled on an object. For instance a group of six 3D endothelial cells can be duplicated, offset and repeated, then folded like rolling a cigarette to create blood vessels and other tissue cavities.
CG technology will continue to impact the world’s understanding of healthcare. He adds: “Virtual, augmented and mixed reality will surely become more widespread, allowing doctors and medical students to conduct simulated surgical procedures, or manipulate a CG human body and explore the various systems within.”
Already, companies are busy working on VR training solutions for surgeons and healthcare professionals. 3D printing is used to create models that prove vital to surgical planning, while research is underway on a process similar to traditional 3D printing that creates organs for transplant. Whether it’s Madmicrobe’s insightful visualisations, or Essentium and Vorum’s robust orthopedic devices, the use of such technology is breaking down barriers and helping to further democratise advanced healthcare solutions.
ANIMATING LIFE
“I’ve always had a love of scientific visualisation,” says Dubin, explaining to 3D World how and why he founded Madmicrobe in 2015. “After a 20-year period of working for other studios doing this kind of work, I was ready to branch out and start a studio that could push the boundaries of medical animation and adopt a dynamic and cinematic approach.”
Dubin’s partner and executive producer Mitch Wishart, whom he worked with for ten years prior, was also ready for a change. Partner and CFO Mike Mcintyre jumped on board to handle the financial and organisational aspects of Madmicrobe, bringing with him decades of entrepreneurial experience. “We opened Madmicrobe in 2015, and have just celebrated our five-year anniversary,” explains Dubin. “It’s been quite a fulfilling experience so far, both creatively and professionally, for all of us.”
Madmicrobe primarily creates animations for healthcare marketing agencies and pharmaceutical companies. “We have also done work for TV and film as well as producing holographic and 360-degree experiences for trade shows and live events,” adds Dubin. The studio uses Cinema 4D for the bulk of its animation work. “Recently we’ve switched to Redshift for our rendering pipeline,” says Dubin, “but we use Arnold if a particular project will benefit from it.”
The team includes Zbrush artists, each of whom specialise in sculpting particular anatomical, cellular, or medical device assets that may be needed on one of Madmicrobe’s projects. “A few of our guys have been integrating Substance into their texturing workflow as well,” Dubin continues. “For organic animation rigs and particle effects we will use X-particles and occasionally Houdini. We also do real-time work for AR, VR and interactive, using both Unity and Unreal depending on the job.”
As well as a vast array of tools and software, scientific visualisation requires extensive research and development. “Some of the day-to-day science visualisation challenges we face involve things like getting organic cellular blobs to roll across an irregular surface and squeeze between other cells, or to depict DNA transcription accurately,” explains Dubin. Medical phenomena such as apoptosis, or cell death, and mitosis, or cell division, are frequent challenges for Madmicrobe.
“We have a few tried and true techniques for these sorts of effects, but we will always throw it out to the team to explore new methods using the many tools we
have available,” says Dubin. “Our medical art director Gary Welch also weighs in on both accuracy and technical direction to ensure the actions are accurate, efficiently executed and pleasing to the eye.”
Chief among the incredible feats of Madmicrobe’s work is their ability to balance the scientifically accurate with the aesthetically and artistically pleasing. “Having been in this field for over 20 years, there is a lot Mitch and I will catch right away in terms of what’s accurate and what’s not,” Dubin admits. “We have a medical director who will dive into the material and do whatever research is necessary to ensure accuracy and explain to our team the mechanics of what needs to be visualised. That said, it’s how the material is presented that really makes a difference between ending up with a dull animation or one that captures the attention and imagination of the audience.”
Dubin and the team at Madmicrobe always strive to push their visuals into a more cinematic realm, using textures, lighting and motion. “We try to make shapes and surfaces interesting and organic,” he adds. “There are very few, if any, straight lines or flat surfaces in nature and we try to keep our eye on that in our work.”
PRINTING PROSTHETICS
The 3D printing partnership between Essentium and Vorum came about in answer to the demand for superior orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) devices that will give patients greater functionality, mobility, fit and comfort. “3D printing has an important role here because it gives O&P designers the ability to make parts to optimum strength and weight that interact fluidly with the human body
“VR WILL ALLOW MEDICAL STUDENTS TO CONDUCT SIMULATED SURGICAL PROCEDURES” Joel Dubin, creative director of Madmicrobe Studios
while accurately mimicking natural human movement,” explains Teipel.
The O&P industry is inherently bespoke and devices are handcrafted by clinicians for every patient in a process that can take days or weeks. It was the technical challenge of embracing new technology and improving on the existing methods that led Essentium – an innovator in additive manufacturing processes, materials, and hardware – to partner with Vorum Research Corporation, which pioneered the use of 3D scanning combined with computer aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) for orthotics and prosthetics design.
“Essentium’s platform is designed to unlock the creativity and design experience of clinicians at speed and scale,” says Teipel. The platform can be used to produce a broad spectrum of O&P devices. Teipel continues: “To list a few, Essentium’s platform has already been utilised to produce diagnostic sockets, definitive sockets, many types of ankle-foot orthosis, supramalleolar orthosis, as well as body jackets, wrist braces, and cranial helmets.”
3D printing, along with Essentium’s High Speed Extrusion (HSE) printer, encourages novel designs within the O&P industry. According to Teipel, the HSE platform is between five and fifteen times faster than alternative production approaches, as well as five times more accurate. A non-slip, high-torque extruder system and all-linear motor allows the HSE to reach print speeds of greater than 500mm a second. “This expedites and empowers the bespoke nature of O&P devices,” adds Teipel, “giving clinicians a very capable tool to create unique devices for individual patients, and do it in far less time.”
Traditionally, when clinicians working by hand want to change the shape of a prosthetic socket, they apply heat to the plastic and manipulate the material with their fingers. “To engage these clinicians more closely in the process, 3D printing software has a feature that enables them to push a button and have the same feeling of intimate involvement,” says Teipel.
“Essentially, when a clinician sits down at their computer, they’ll see functions on the screen that match the functions they have been following by hand.”
It’s clear that 3D printing technology is breaking down the barriers surrounding legacy O&P production methods, allowing clinicians a more easy and efficient way to seamlessly design and create bespoke devices that are lightweight, affordable, and comfortable for patients. 3D printing also makes it possible to accommodate a specific set of conditions, such as patient age, weight, activity level, and more. These conditions help to determine the thickness, strength, and material needed in the device. “This process enables clinicians to consistently design and reproduce strong devices based on proven materials and 3D printing processes,” Teipel continues.
“Together we are re-writing the business and production model for O&P professionals that bring profoundly important mobility and independence to their patients,” adds Teipel on the Essentium/ Vorum partnership. Across the industry, 3D technology is helping to further our understanding of medical phenomena, as well as improving and democratising healthcare solutions.
Madmicrobe’s postproduction process encompasses editing, effects, music, sound design and the final full-res animation output
Essentium and Vorum’s 3D printing solutions will give practitioners more time to focus on patient health
“THIS GIVES CLINICIANS A VERY CAPABLE TOOL TO CREATE UNIQUE DEVICES, IN FAR LESS TIME” Blake Teipel, PH.D, CEO and co-founder of Essentium