Emerging Trends in Medical Animation

Medical Animation

In 2024, the global medical animation market saw a valuation of USD 428.47 million, and is predicted to increase from USD 511.59 million in 2025 to approximately USD 2.4 billion by 2034. The medical animation industry is constantly improving and changing due to improved technologies and novel ways of engaging audiences through scientific communication. Medical animation serves as a valuable tool for accurate and visually captivating content that aids in learning and development within all healthcare sectors.

Below, we delve into the latest trends in 3D medical animation and showcase how our in-house production team leverages the latest technology and techniques to craft remarkable and captivating visuals through medical animation…

3D Computer Graphics Game Engines – Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine (UE5), created by Epic Games, is the latest version of Unreal Engine. This is one of the most powerful 3D creation tools. UE5 has lots of new features such as nanite, lumen, world partition, animation, and metasounds. This technology is essential for creating 3D animations through its simple, powerful, and wide-range capabilities.

The platform empowers creators with the ability to produce innovative content, engage audiences with interactive experiences, and immerse them in captivating virtual environments. Conventional rendering techniques often impose limitations on our creative ventures due to their sluggish pace. Adopting a real-time workflow has the potential to revolutionize our work by providing instantaneous visual feedback, thereby opening up boundless possibilities for creativity.

A member of our production team, Bradley Lam, successfully created a digital human of himself in 3D space, which can then be transformed into a metahuman used in animation inside Unreal Engine, depicted below.

FX (Special Effects) Perspective

At Random42 we have a growing team of specialist FX artists, using the latest industry-leading animation software such as, SideFX Houdini, to generate a wide range of physically based simulation effects. This allows us to generate realistic particles, smoke, fluid, and rigid body simulations. We also use advanced procedural and simulated effects to enhance our character animation, adding realistic hair, cloth, muscle and skin movement.

Random42 is actively engaged in developing workflows and toolsets that leverage the benefits of emerging technology in the CG space. We are currently looking into new industry standard formats such as USD and MaterialX, which make interoperability between platforms easier and more efficient, and the growing use of Machine Learning software integration to improve artist productivity.

Motion Capture Suit – Tracking the Human Body

Our team has been utilizing the Noitom Studio system to enhance our character animation capabilities, using cutting-edge motion capture to create full human body animations more quickly and easily. This tracking technology allows for a more realistic approach to body animation, capturing the smallest details such as finger, knee, and hip movements, depicting natural flow and accurate mobility. From a medical animation perspective, human functions such as coughing and sneezing can be illustrated in such lifelike detail, something that is particularly complex and time-consuming to replicate or animate by hand.

As leaders in our field, we are committed to staying at the forefront of advancements in the medical animation space. We are proud of the continual progression of our production team, achieved through our ongoing research and development initiatives, coupled with the utilization of state-of-the-art technology. This combination has enabled us to enhance our capabilities, setting new standards for excellence in the field.

By harnessing cutting-edge tools such as Unreal Engine 5 and SideFX Houdini, alongside motion capture technology like the Noitom Studio system, we continue to push creative boundaries and deliver top-tier digital assets. With a focus on accuracy, creativity, and innovation, we are dedicated to shaping the future of medical animation and driving meaningful advancements in scientific communication.

The Animation Industry & Artificial Intelligence’s Role in it

Disclaimer: While Random42 recognizes the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”), we are committed to reviewing best practices to deliver high-quality products to our clients while leveraging this technology responsibly. As such, we currently do not utilize AI in our final client deliverables.

The rise of AI, or the use of machine learning platforms, has rapidly transformed multiple industries, and medical animation is no exception. Over the past few years, AI applications have exploded, offering new possibilities for enhancing creative processes and overall visual communication effectiveness.

Image generators are widely utilized within the industry to conceptualize ideas and color palettes at the beginning of the creative journey, often during the mood board phase. They help teams explore concepts and color palettes within a much quicker timeframe to full 3D renderings. This allows for early identification and refinement of aesthetics, inspiring color schemes and establishing the desired project mood.

While AI can automate tasks such as initial concept generation, color palette suggestions, and even some aspects of 3D modeling, we at Random42 believe in the irreplaceable value of human artistry. Each project is meticulously crafted by our team of expert artists to ensure the unique artistic vision, scientific accuracy, and high-quality execution that our clients expect.