Medical Virtual Reality (VR)

Most sci-comm and healthcare agencies outsource virtual reality projects to non-medical interactive studios. At AXS, all design and development is done in-house by our specialized team, ensuring a higher level of quality control and shorter timelines.

On top of this, AXS Studio medical artists hold M.Sc. degrees in biomedical communications from one of only five graduate programs accredited by CAAHEP. These specialized programs train designers, animators and developers in gross-human anatomy, cell and molecular biology, physiology and pathology. The other medical VR companies pair non-science artists with PhD or PharmD content writers, an approach that may result in no one on the team knowing what the science looks like, meaning their work may not hold up to scrutiny by experts—your audience.

AXS Studio has over 20 years experience visualizing medical science for science-literate audiences. We employ five Board-Certified Medical Illustrators (CMIs) who ensure accuracy in every medical VR experience we create. We speak the language of science and communicate complex concepts more accurately and clearly than other agencies that lack this specialized science training.

Simply contact us with a project description that includes the audience/user, timeline, budget and objectives for your medical or pharma VR application. We’ll schedule a consultation to discuss the project goals and scope, then send you an itemized proposal for review.

The main determinants of cost are the complexity and functional requirements of your VR experience. We will account for your budget when proposing a VR solution. Our fees include:

• Content writing
• UX design
• Visual asset creation
• 2D and 3D animation
• VR programming
• VR hardware (optional)
• Testing, deployment and support (on-site or remote)

We handle all content development, visual, and interactive programming in-house. This enables us to carefully manage development costs and maintain confidentiality for our clients. If you’d like to get a quote for a medical VR experience, please get in touch.

Our fees include concept ideation, content research and writing, UX and UI design, wireframing, 3D modeling and animation, programming, audio (voiceover, music and sound effects), usability and performance testing, client support and training. During VR application development, we prepare wireframes and videos for your MLR (or PRC) reviews and will handle the submission of review materials, if desired.

At AXS Studio, we’re committed to communicating your science accurately. Our fees include content research and the preparation of a comprehensive research deck to support the creation of all the visuals featured in your medical VR application.

Clients frequently express relief after switching from their previous agency, citing challenges, including:

• Unexpected overages to fix errors made by their agency
• Vendors who struggled to understand the purpose of their project
• Surprise technical issues during setup at their congress booth
• Stressful last-minute deliveries

In contrast, clients have described AXS Studio as “a talented and reliable partner”, and noted ”the commitment [we] have to pulling off the impossible” and the “incredible quality and attention to detail in [our] work“. Our clients express relief at no longer being concerned about hitting deadlines. We collaborate well with their other vendors, who appreciate that AXS Studio is “always thinking ahead and thinking proactively.”

When it comes to pharma VR applications, leading pharmaceutical companies trust AXS Studio to deliver unique solutions “that boost traffic and HCP engagement at … congress booths.” But don’t just take our word, read what our clients have to say.

Concept to completion can take three to five months, depending on the scope of your VR project. If you’re targeting a launch date, it is important to begin early—especially if your company’s MLR/PRC process is quite involved. It is our recommendation to get in touch for a quote six months before your due date. We’ll send you a detailed proposal, including a timeline with project milestones for your team.

Five minutes or shorter is a good target if your VR project is for a congress booth. HCPs at a scientific meeting are usually busy and have limited time to spend with your content. Being concise with focused messaging gives booth visitors the highest value for investing their time; we advise prioritizing three main messages for a pharma VR activity. Virtual reality for medical training can be as long as needed to cover the essential training material, although we recommend periodic breaks if your VR experience exceeds 10 minutes.

1. Start by clearly defining your primary audience (or user) and communication objectives. Your audience will inform the language and tone used. Are you speaking to specialists, general practitioners, or patients?
2. Send us your key content resources and reference materials, including scientific posters, MSL decks, and journal papers.
3. Our design and development teams will ideate to generate an original user journey for your medical or pharma VR experience. We’ll present this to you as an outline with concept sketches. This step may go through a couple of iterations.
4. Next, we’ll create a wireframe that details the proposed user experience, content and visuals. A wireframe is like a storyboard for an interactive application that clearly shows how your medical VR experience will look and function. The wireframe is essential for getting all stakeholders aligned before application development begins. After a round of review, we’ll make any necessary revisions and resubmit the wireframe for your team’s MLR (or PRC) review.
5. Once the wireframe is approved, our team will develop the alpha, beta and final versions of your medical VR experience. We will submit the beta version for MLR/PRC review and incorporate any revisions into the final VR application.
6. During development, we will pre-test the VR application with your booth vendor or app deployment team to ensure it works flawlessly when launched.
7. Following MLR/PRC approval, we will coordinate with your booth vendor training team to deploy the finished medical VR experience to your congress booth or internal devices.

Scientific communications and Medical affairs managers at biopharmaceutical companies commission VR experiences to educate HCPs on mechanisms of disease and drug mechanism of action at conference booths. Interactive VR provides visitors a more engaging and interesting experience than video and interactive activities on regular monitors.

Marketing managers and product managers for medical device companies commission VR experiences to demonstrate medical product features and benefits at congress booths.

Surgical training companies commission VR applications to train surgeons on new technologies and procedures.

We will design your medical VR application for easy use by your booth visitors. Visual and audio instructions will guide users through every step. Having a facilitator is great to get people started with the experience: inviting them to try it out and helping them put on the VR headset. We’re happy to recommend a facilitation vendor that our clients have had great experiences with in the past.

AXS Studio designs the kiosks and works with our clients’ booth vendors, who manufacture the finished structures. We also coordinate with our clients’ audio-visual suppliers to provide VR headsets or other supporting equipment needed for the exhibit. For example, we often mirror the VR experience or show a trailer on a large monitor to act as a booth draw.

Game controllers can be used and the VR application can be designed for simple operation by participants who are new to VR and games. AXS Studio also creates hands-free interactive VR experiences where participants can navigate via head movement and hand gestures.