While I have been focusing of the role of CG modelling and animation within the film and entertainment industries, we should not overlook the mediums applications and importance in the wider world, particularly in the service of science and medicine.
Technology more commonly used to create digital doubles of actors for effects heavy blockbusters is currently revolutionising the world of prosthetics. The conventional method of producing maxillofacial prosthetics is long and laborious (involving taking impressions, moulds and casts of body parts). Yet companies such as Fripp Design have begun scanning the faces of customers seeking facial prosthetics which are cheaper and quicker to produce than their hand made counterparts. Once the face is scanned, 3D modelling software is used to rebuild the area requiring a prosthesis, either referencing the patients relatives, or, in the case of eyes and ears, the patients own features. Rather than paying around £10,000 for a hand painted prosthetic eye, and 3D printed one could cost as little as £160, while the production time could be cut from 10 weeks to 48 hours.
Meanwhile, with an increased scarcity of cadavers, 3D computer generated animation can be used to create anatomically accurate visualisations of the human body. These simulations can be watched passively, as educational videos, or may include interactive controls, allowing the student to 'explore'.
In the same vein, complex and detailed virtual bodies can be used for surgical training allowing medical students to practice basic surgical procedures, or more experienced surgeons to explore new techniques and hone their skill set. Previous to the digital age, pioneering new surgical procedures meant finding willing volunteers actually in need of surgery. After all, it is hardly ethical to cut up healthy patients. 3D visualisations provide a safe and controversy free way for trainee medics to practice and learn, much in the same way as a flight simulator. Access to a virtual body also offers surgeons the chance for in depth analysis of upcoming procedures, deciding how best to solve the problem they face and consequently minimise the risk of complications when operating on a patient.
It is not just the medical professionals who can benefit from the use of CG animation. Patients can be shown animated, yet accurate 3D visualisations, either of their own, personal conditions (achieved through MRI and CT scanning), or one of immersive, educational animations created by a growing number of companies which specialise in breathing life into the microscopic worlds of cell division and protein synthesis. One such company is Cosmocyte, who hope to produce an animation entitled What Is Cancer?
CG animation offers a possible solution of how to describe the invisible, or indeed the unimaginable. Faced with the shocking news that they have cancer or require extensive surgery, an animation could provide an eloquence and clarity which may be lacking from a consultant's explanation, particularly when the patient is unfamiliar with complex medical terminology.
3D animation and modelling's applications in the medical industry have the potential to change lives. It can help make the world of medicine accessible, as well as more efficient. There is also an element of magic in being able to show the world what is broken, exactly how it will be fixed, not to mention the invisible worlds of cells and disease, usually only seen in a lab.
Technology more commonly used to create digital doubles of actors for effects heavy blockbusters is currently revolutionising the world of prosthetics. The conventional method of producing maxillofacial prosthetics is long and laborious (involving taking impressions, moulds and casts of body parts). Yet companies such as Fripp Design have begun scanning the faces of customers seeking facial prosthetics which are cheaper and quicker to produce than their hand made counterparts. Once the face is scanned, 3D modelling software is used to rebuild the area requiring a prosthesis, either referencing the patients relatives, or, in the case of eyes and ears, the patients own features. Rather than paying around £10,000 for a hand painted prosthetic eye, and 3D printed one could cost as little as £160, while the production time could be cut from 10 weeks to 48 hours.
Meanwhile, with an increased scarcity of cadavers, 3D computer generated animation can be used to create anatomically accurate visualisations of the human body. These simulations can be watched passively, as educational videos, or may include interactive controls, allowing the student to 'explore'.
In the same vein, complex and detailed virtual bodies can be used for surgical training allowing medical students to practice basic surgical procedures, or more experienced surgeons to explore new techniques and hone their skill set. Previous to the digital age, pioneering new surgical procedures meant finding willing volunteers actually in need of surgery. After all, it is hardly ethical to cut up healthy patients. 3D visualisations provide a safe and controversy free way for trainee medics to practice and learn, much in the same way as a flight simulator. Access to a virtual body also offers surgeons the chance for in depth analysis of upcoming procedures, deciding how best to solve the problem they face and consequently minimise the risk of complications when operating on a patient.
It is not just the medical professionals who can benefit from the use of CG animation. Patients can be shown animated, yet accurate 3D visualisations, either of their own, personal conditions (achieved through MRI and CT scanning), or one of immersive, educational animations created by a growing number of companies which specialise in breathing life into the microscopic worlds of cell division and protein synthesis. One such company is Cosmocyte, who hope to produce an animation entitled What Is Cancer?
CG animation offers a possible solution of how to describe the invisible, or indeed the unimaginable. Faced with the shocking news that they have cancer or require extensive surgery, an animation could provide an eloquence and clarity which may be lacking from a consultant's explanation, particularly when the patient is unfamiliar with complex medical terminology.
3D animation and modelling's applications in the medical industry have the potential to change lives. It can help make the world of medicine accessible, as well as more efficient. There is also an element of magic in being able to show the world what is broken, exactly how it will be fixed, not to mention the invisible worlds of cells and disease, usually only seen in a lab.
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