We would like to acknowledge our awesome intern Min Jee Kim, a student at the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications Program at the University of Toronto. She has worked diligently this past summer to produce the wonderful Right Hemicolectomy Patient Education video. Throughout the process, Min Jee has continued to amaze us with her talents in visual storytelling and her ability to learn quickly and produce great work in such a short timeline. Min Jee has also kindly provided us with her experience as a summer intern at TVASurg and the design process behind this project, as posted below:
While completing a Master’s in Biomedical Communications, patient education has been a strong interest of mine. To my delight, I was given the opportunity to create a patient centric animation on right hemicolectomy in conjunction with TVASurg and the team at UNH Colorectal Cancer Program. This animation serves to inform patients about their hemicolectomy procedure and what to expect prior and post surgery.
Throughout each step of the animation making process, patient perspective was taken into consideration. Excessive details about surgical tools, anatomy, and operation steps were omitted to provide clarity. In addition, the patient's attention was directed towards those [details] relevant to them such as location and size of the incisions. During this process, the storyboard provided a visual direction for the animation and later strongly influenced the layout and pacing of the animation.
Selected storyboard images
Conscious design choices such as using toon shading and outlining shapes were made to blend 3D and 2D elements seamlessly for an immersive flow for patients. Combined with the individual chapters within the animation, patients are able to revisit a section at their own leisure. To increase patient engagement, effort was also placed into making the 2D elements more engaging by adding 2D animations such as a walking character. The final animation can be found hosted on the website as a patient teaching piece.
Selected 2D animation images
I am thankful to the TVASurg team that guided me along the process and provided constructive feedback. With their support, I was able to create my first full length animation which was a rewarding experience. Upon returning to complete my Master’s in Biomedical Communications in the fall, I know I will be putting to use the several skills I learned from this internship towards my degree.