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Inspiring medical device animation that makes your technology easy to grasp.
It’s been an absolute pleasure working with AXS. They overhauled our scientific materials, providing a consistent look across all our tangible and digital assets to convey our scientific pipeline in a graphically appealing way.
Heather Douangpanya
Director, Global Scientific Communications, Seagen Inc.
You guys are doing great work! The animation with the electric field displayed has been an 'AH-HA' moment for all of our Doctors, strategic collaborators and many of our employees!
Allan Zingeler
President & CEO, Farapulse
The AXS team was a pleasure to work with and I greatly appreciated their creative and scientific expertise. The videos received outstanding feedback and are one of the most popular assets for our disease state education campaign.
Rachel Raynes
Global Medical Communications, Senior Manager | Heart Failure GCCL, AMGEN
We chose AXS Studio because of their unique ability to curate a better, more visually impactful story resonating with both a scientific and non-scientific target audience.
Glen Tinevez
Vice President, Marketing North America Commercial Operations,
Ortho Clinical Diagnostics
Ortho Clinical Diagnostics
AXS was a true partner in creating highly compelling MOA videos for an important pharma client. They collaborated with us through numerous challenges on a tight schedule and hit our deadline with a product our client loved!
Senior Account Executive, Goodfuse
The team at AXS are true pros. They asked all of the right questions from the start, from technical/scientific details to overall look and feel, and completed this amazing cover rather quickly as a result.
Kelly Krause
Creative Director, Nature
Collaborating with the AXS team on high-impact science visualization projects is always a pleasure. I can rest assured that the final product will be clear, elegant, and beautiful while meeting our target audience’s needs.
Fabian de Kok-Mercado
Creative Director, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
These are absolutely fantastic visualizations. They convey the real science. I still am incredibly proud of what we did together on this video and I use it in my lectures to Harvard students and externally.
Donald E. Ingber
MD, PhD, Director, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University
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Medical Device Animation
We’re artists who love to visualize medical science and technology! We bring a unique blend of high-end 3D graphics capabilities and medical knowledge to help you differentiate and explain your technology clearly and beautifully.
We’re experienced in a wide range of therapeutic areas and have a thorough knowledge of anatomy, tissue and organ structure, and cell and molecular biology.
Why invest in medical device animation?
- Quickly show busy stakeholders how your device works and what sets it apart
- A well-crafted 3D medical device animation is a tremendous advantage in gaining recognition and acceptance of a new medical device among stakeholders: physicians, nurses, materials managers, purchasers and case managers
- Medical device animation is an excellent tool for investor presentations, where time is limited and stakes are high
- A high-end medical device animation lends credibility to your messaging and quality to your brand
- Visual assets can be used for marketing and training materials, including instructions for use (IFU)
- A quality medical device animation will increase traffic to your congress exhibit booth and improve engagement with visitors
The AXS Studio difference
We’re artists who love to visualize science and technology. It shows in every medical device animation we create. Helping you showcase an exciting new technology that will change people’s lives is why we come to work.
We accelerate understanding
We use design principles based on cognitive psychology to optimize your animation for attention and learning. This makes it easier for stakeholders to understand how your medical device or technology works. Better understanding is good for business and healthcare.
Medical content expertise
Unlike generalist agencies and animation studios, we work only with medical and scientific content. We have the experience and scientific knowledge to visualize your device in operation like few others can.
We speak the language of science
Our unique client services team members all have life science backgrounds. We speak the same language as our clients and understand the challenges they face telling their stories in highly competitive medical device and technology industries.
Animation down to a science
We do all creative and production work in house, from concept development and script writing, through modeling, animation, rendering and post-production. This allows us to carefully control the design and production process, eliminate errors and meet client deadlines.
We’re serious about accuracy
Our 3D medical animators are trained in gross anatomy, tissue structure and surgical visualization. This ensures a level of accuracy that is essential for an audience of healthcare professionals (HCPs).
Prepared for success
Our medical device animations are carefully referenced and prepared to our clients’ PRC review specifications. This along with our medical science expertise and rigorous animation workflow ensures on-time delivery of approved medical device animations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who uses medical device animation and what for?
Product and marketing managers use medical device animations to explain the relative advantages of a new technology over current practices. The animation may be shown on a product website, at exhibit booths and in sales aids.
Medical device animation is used in clinical development to train clinical trial staff on the correct use of a technology with patients to help ensure that protocols are followed in the interest of patient safety.
Medical device animation may be used in instructions-for-use (IFU) materials to train HCPs on safe use and product updates.
Physicians often use medical device animations to explain procedures to patients.
How long does it take to make a medical device animation?
On average, a two-minute 3D medical device animation takes four months to complete. The exact timeline depends on the review and approval process. We recommend contacting us at least 5 months ahead of your due date.
Can you work with my device CAD files and will this save me money?
Yes, we can start with a number of file types generated directly from CAD software. In most cases, we will then reformat the models for use in our 3D animation software, faithfully maintaining the most minute structural details, while facilitating beautiful, photorealistic renderings.
What do clients say about AXS Studio?
Our clients tell us we’re unlike other agencies they’ve hired in terms of our high level of medical knowledge, especially concerning depictions of anatomy and tissues, and in our attention to detail. The words clients use most to characterize our work are “accurate” and “beautiful”.
Why hire AXS Studio instead of another animation studio or agency?
While many legitimate healthcare agencies produce medical device animations, very few use actual medical animators to create them. Instead, many agencies use generalist animators, who who were trained for film and TV and lack science training. This results in highly inaccurate, often random, depictions of anatomical structure and function—something that’s immediately obvious to an HCP audience, and can diminish the credibility of a new technology or device.
By contrast, AXS Studio employs only medically trained animators, each with an M.Sc. in Biomedical Communications (BMC) degree from the University of Toronto, one of only four North American programs accredited by CAAHEP. This specialized training, which includes surgical illustration, is the reason we depict medical device procedures more accurately than animators without medical training. For you, this means a more credible medical device animation and better value for your budget.
What determines the price of a medical device animation?
Visual complexity, resolution (for example HD versus 4K) and runtime (length) are the main factors in pricing a medical device animation. All content development and production is done in-house, so you won’t be paying markups for outsourced work.
What does the price of a medical device animation include?
This varies among agencies and animation studios, as does the service quality and degree of content expertise. AXS Studio pricing includes research, storyboarding, 3D model creation, animation, shading, lighting, rendering and compositing. Audio services are also included: professional voice talent and recording, sound FX design, and music, stock or custom. Optional services include voiceover script writing and document preparation for MLR or PRC review.
How long is the average medical device animation?
Medical device animations typically run between one and three minutes; however we have created multi-chapter animations for training that have run as long as 10 minutes. In general, shorter is better and also less expensive. Medical professionals and other busy stakeholders appreciate concise, clear storytelling, and that’s an area where AXS Studio excels. When preparing an outline or voice-over script for your medical device animation, a rule of thumb is 100 words of narration per minute of animation. If you can tell your story in 100 words, you can animate it in 1 minute.
Can I supply content for voice-over or on-screen display?
Yes, we do work with scripts supplied to us. After reviewing your script, we may provide recommendations to optimize it for visual storytelling. A guiding rule of thumb when writing your script: 100 words of voice-over for every minute of animation.
Can you work with a storyboard that I provide?
A storyboard serves two purposes:
1. To pre-visualize the story for stakeholders, and
2. To act as a shot-by-shot roadmap for our medical animators.
We will happily review a storyboard you provide and determine whether our animators can use it as-is in our workflow, or if we need to build on it to better fit our established and efficient workflow.
Do I have to provide a medical content expert for the animation?
We welcome input from our clients’ opinion leaders and subject matter experts, but it’s certainly not a requirement. A key reason clients work with AXS is our in-house medical science expertise. AXS writers, storyboard artists and medical animators are formally trained in anatomy, physiology, tissue and organ structure, cell biology and molecular biology. We have experience in numerous surgical and therapeutic procedures, ranging from orthopedics to plastic surgery and regenerative medicine.
How do you ensure the right size video goes to the right device?
We make most medical device animations in the HD (high definition) standard: 1920 x 1080 pixels, 16:9 aspect ratio, 24 fps (frames per second). From this master file, we output the video formats (Windows Media, MPEG-4, WebM, etc.) at the file sizes (compression and bitrate) and pixel dimensions best suited to the end user devices that you’re targeting. For online video (including mobile) we optimize compression and bitrate settings and can provide multiple versions to work with responsive websites. With every project, we provide an uncompressed master animation file, which you or your agency can use to output any file format that may be required down the road.
Can an HD medical device animation later be “up-res’d” to 4K or 6K?
Unfortunately, no. While we can change the video file to a higher resolution format (for example, from HD to 4K), the actual resolution will not increase. Rather, new pixels are interpolated from existing ones, resulting in a bigger image, but not an increase in its true resolution. If you anticipate needing 4K (or even 6K) in the future, it’s best to begin with that format then down-size for devices that require less resolution.
Some companies “offshore” medical device animation to low cost companies in other countries. Does AXS follow this practice?
We do not. All AXS work is done in-house with highly-trained and experienced medical animators. This enables us to tightly control quality and scheduling to ensure we consistently hit deadlines. This is particularly important for submission deadlines, conferences and product launches. Moreover, while there are many products and services that can be offshored to cut costs, quality medical device animation isn’t one of them. This type of work typically requires a high level of specialized knowledge in order to depict anatomy, tissues and complex procedures accurately.
AXS Studio writers, storyboard artists and medical animators hold Master of Science, Biomedical Communications (M.Sc.BMC) degrees—specialized training that enables us to explain complex medical procedures more accurately and clearly than animators without medical training. There are certain animation suppliers in North America and the UK that use low-cost outsourcing for medical device animations. If you’re considering hiring one of these companies, we advise first seeking information on the medical training their animators have received.
Are special glasses needed to view 3D medical device animations?
The term 3D animation refers to using digital three-dimensional models in the creation of an animated film on a computer. Movie theaters use “3D” to describe stereoscopic films, which are created using a pair of cameras to create the illusion of three dimensions on a 2D screen. AXS Studio makes both stereoscopic and regular 3D animations. Stereoscopic animations must be viewed using 3D glasses and a specialized monitor or projector. When we make a stereoscopic animation, we also deliver a “non-stereo” version that can be seen on a regular screen without special glasses. This gives our clients flexibility: stereo for special screenings and non-stereo for viewing on regular screens.
Can I use images from my medical device animation for other purposes, like print or a website?
Absolutely. At its basic level, an animation is a long series of still images we call frames. You can use any single frame from your medical device animation at no additional charge. These images are usually big enough for use in slide presentations, small print materials and on websites. If you require images at a larger size—for use on a booth panel, for example—we can render the resolution you need and charge only for the output. We can also render individual animation elements at virtually any size.
Do you sell stock surgical animation?
No we don’t. All AXS Studio medical device animations are created custom, to address our clients’ specific visualization needs.
111 Peter St. Suite 700
Toronto, ON, M5V 2H1
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