Case Study: Mastergraft by Medtronic 3D Animation

3D Medical equipment is a highly competitive industry and sales teams face rigorous competition. In this 3D animation, Medtronic’s Mastergraft technology is showcased in a concise and visually compelling way. This not only helps practitioners educate patients but also sales teams educate practitioners.

This case study discusses some of the technical challenges faced when creating 3d medical equipment animations as well as the goals they hope to achieve. By working closely with the Medronics development team, this animation was able to accurately, quickly, and completely convey the core features of this health technology.

Microscopic Animations

This rendering showcases a microscopic view of host cells and plasma organisms

One of the first scenes in this animation showcases a microscopic few of the host’s bloodstream. This helps set a tone of the animation that speaks to the cellular technology used by the Mastergraft technology. By using Gaussian distributions, particle scattering, and depth-of-field techniques this animation was able to capture the essence of the microscopic world.

Visualizing a Host Response

Illustrating the use of patient cells on the biograft prior to insertion

This scene showcases the Biograft being populated with host cells prior to insertion. By priming a viewer with the microscopic view first, the priming for host acceptance is more clearly illustrated. To accurately render this scene, we made use of surface displacement technologies and particle systems to accurately simulate the influx of host cells onto the biograft substrate.

Animating Spinal Placement

Showcasing the biograft being place onto the spinal location

One of the challenges of this project was to accurately, and completely, visualize the placement and acceptance of the biograft. To achieve the desired effect, we leveraged opacity masking to help slowly reveal the biograft appearing at its final placement location. This helps the beginning, middle, and end of the process be concisely visualized.

Final Result

Rendering of final placment and host acceptance

Multi-step medical animations often involve a complex series of maneuvering. This project was no exception, and the showcasing of the final desired result brought everything together. Here we’ve used slow rotation to help bring the entire placement into focus as the viewer slowly adjusts their focus from the micro to the macro.

Review

3D Medical animations are always unique in that each project requires imaginative approaches. This project required a creative realization to bridge the microscopic with the macroscopic all while concisely conveying complex steps. Our animation team used a combination of natural systems simulations, real-world camera simulations, and optimized texture workflows to deliver a final animation on budget and on time. Feel free to send us a message to learn more about how this project was created.