The human body is a fine piece of technology. It is a complex maze of 1 trillion cells and molecules interacting with each other driven by chaotic biochemistry and thermodynamics laws.
Explaining this biological universe in words is far from possible.
As the saying goes, a picture is worth more than a thousand words.
This is where scientific and medical illustrations come into play.
In this post, we will speak about how medical illustration can help and impact in the communication of science. Keep reading to discover 4 benefits of medical illustrations.
But… what are medical illustrations?
Medical illustration is art serving medical science.
It is more than just artwork. It is an efficient form to communicate complex scientific concepts in an engaging, visual and easily comprehensible way.
Visual communication outpasses the specialized language frequently used to describe medical topics and allow people a greater understanding of the topics.
From the first “medical illustrations” (400BC) which were created on papyrus to depict anatomy and rudimentary “surgery tools” (“The History of the Association of Medical Illustrators” from Alan E. Branigan, ) medical illustrations always have had a significant role in the development of science because it helps to share and make medical knowledge more understandable.
So having already defined what medical illustration is, you may wonder about its real importance. In this age, we can take photographs to almost everything so why we should care about illustrations.
And which are their real benefits for the healthcare industry?
1. Show things are often unobservable
Scientific illustration takes the viewer from the often unobservable molecules and viruses to the Mechanism of Action of a drug (MoA).
Not everything can be snapped by a camera. As scientists submerge into the complexity of sub-cellular processes, our visualization methods can fail us.
Here is where illustration comes into play.
2. Make science understable andd accesible for patients
Sometimes the healthcare industry struggles to make science understandable to patients.
Making patients aware of their pathology is challenging.
Medical illustration is a helpful way for the pharma industry to educate their patients. From explaining how an insulin pump device works to make it understandable how an autoimmune disease goes on.
Illustrations allow translating complicated medical terminology and unpleasant concepts into information that can be readily absorbed and retained by patients.
3. Explain challenging Mechanisms of Action of a drug (MoA)
Since doctors have little time, they usually have to be aware of new therapies reading the latest scientific publications.
So depicting all elements of a mechanism of drug action in one single illustration not only helps to a better understanding of the MoA but also is a time-saver.
But medical illustrations can also be used for medical professionals in training. In this way, they can learn a biochemical process, surgery technique, or just brain anatomy through artwork in a very efficient way.
4. Staff training
Like many other industries, the healthcare industry requires a lot of staff training.
This aspect is crucial in this sector. Concepts must be clear when we deal with health. So, the finest approach to explain the MoA of your new therapy to your salesforce is through medical illustrations. These professionals will have a better understanding and will transmit the message to doctors more clearly.
Apart from these uses medical illustration can be used for multiple purposes like;
- Textbooks, medical journals, publications, e-books.
- Level-up corporate presentations for investors.
- Continuing medical education.
- Improve look&feel branding material, corporate website…
- Advertising and digital media.
If you think we can help you contact us and our team made up by creative designers and scientists will help you creating cutting-edge illustrations for your next project.
