7. Lumpectomy Photogrammetry Mobile App, Abbvie
2024-25
This project was the culmination of a long-standing relationship with global pharmaceutical giant Abbvie, who hired us to research and implement a mobile scanning solution for reconstructing post-operative lumpectomy deficits and leveraging cutting-edge tools to calculate the volume of filler material required to fill the hole. The objective was to provide clinicians with a fast (<5mins), accurate (<0.5mm margin), intuitive solution that used the latest generation of LIDAR-enabled Apple smartphones.
6. Virtual SmPC, Beigene
2023-24
Our brief for this project was to reinvigorate the conventional SmPC format and accompanying educational materials. We decided to transform all the sections (clinical data, dosage and administration, side effects) into an interactive 360-degree video that was viewable both in VR and on desktop.
5. HoloShare, Beigene
2023-24
The idea for HoloShare, our proprietary AR solution for augmenting video calls, came to us during the pandemic, when we needed to find an elegant, powerful yet simple solution to making our clients’ Zoom/Teams presentations stand out from their competitors. Our solution was to allow users to import 3D animated assets into their video calls, controlling them via an intutive clickable interface without breaking the face-to-face connection that video calls rely on. We designed and optimised heavy, high fidelity assets from the companion VR piece to function seamlessly on the limited bandwidth of video calls, including complex animations, to help our clients – and, most importantly, their audiences – demonstrate mechanisms of action in real-time.
4. MedEvacVR, NHS
2023-24
Our goal with this project was nothing short of revolutionising medical evacuation training via the construction of a virtual training environment with high-end, fully interactive replicas of the latest medical technologies. Our out-of-the-box mobile virtual reality solution is expressly designed as a lightweight, cost-effective alternative to the current professional training setup of choice, which involves a life-size replica and remote control/monitoring station at an almost seven figure sum. Not to mention dedicated, trained personnel for its operation and maintenance.
All the equipment was painstakingly rebuilt to match the exact dimensions of its real-life counterpart and was fully interactable, with full physics. In order to maximise embodiment, we chose controller-free hand tracking, so that users can intuitively use their hands (without the need to adapt to hand controllers) to pick up, place and adjust virtual objects in the scene.
3. Gene Therapy, Biomarin
2019-2024
This cutting-edge, interactive, immersive VR learning experience was designed to educate patients, journalists and the general public on a complex topic – gene therapy – in an innovative, informative and above all, compelling way. It was built to strengthen our client’s positioning as a leader and pioneer in the new and emerging field of gene therapy. It was updated over the years to include hand-tracking and multi-langugage versions (extended to English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese).
The goal of the programme was to introduce users to the new and exciting world of gene therapy. Once regarded as ‘science fiction’, and something in the far-off future, gene therapy is very much here and now, and this learning experience was created to provide users with a fun, immersive and interactive way to learn about this ground breaking technology, and make the audience understand the science behind it.
User experience is engaging and enjoyable with an underlying scientific narrative that is simple and compelling, that leads to excellent recall. The experience was the world’s first mobile, interactive VR gene therapy learning experience designed for the Oculus Quest.
2. Hepatitis C, Gilead
2021
The NHS has set the goal of eliminating Hepatitis C by 2025. Our client established a partnership with the NHS to support this effort with an innovative programme to address under-diagnosis amongst people who inject drugs (PWID).
The aim was to create an immersive VR experience to put clinicians in the shoes of PWIDs, and immerse the viewer in inaccessible environments be it a prison cell in Wandsworth prison or a makeshift encampment on the outskirts of Wolverhampton. Our proprietary “choose your own adventure”-style format allows for a branching conversation: users can choose which topics they want to focus on, and to what level of detail, as shown in the example above. The result is hard-hitting and revelatory, engendering a sense of perspective-taking in the user and thus a greater likelihood of them taking action as a result.
We recorded live VR testimonies from PWIDs in their own environments to understand the challenges they face in accessing diagnosis and treatment for Hep C. Individuals were selected who were willing to communicate details of their daily lives, high-risk behaviours and experiences with illness and treatment. We also included medical specialists and local outreach workers to offer insights into discrepancies between best practices and the reality of providing day-to-day treatment.
VR is a medium designed to generate a sense of visceral immersion in a virtual environment. This is particularly powerful when used to record people and places that are normally inaccessible, providing a gateway to new level of understanding.
1. Chronic Refractory Cough, Shionogi
November 2020
We designed and developed a VR experience and video to showcase the mechanism of action of our client’s Phase II developmental medicine for refractory chronic cough, transporting the user to the microscopic level of neurones and epithelial cells so they could witness the process first-hand.
The challenge was to demonstrate the novel mechanism of action in an exciting and engaging way. The science was ground-breaking and so we were creating concepts and images which were, in many cases, completely new.
The resulting 360 video explained and demonstrated the relevant central and peripheral neurophysiology and neuropharmacology using imagery and sound which will be remembered long after viewing.
As part of a multi-platform approach, we designed a version for a mobile VR headset, a desktop-based VR experience, as well as a guided 2D version to ensure optimum access to the materials across a broad range of audiences.
Quote from the client Global Commercial Lead
“The team at Empathetic Media are great to work with. Their team understands the science of our product and bring a creative aspect that we needed to tell our story. As a global team we needed them to be flexible enough to work across regions and they did that very well delivering a quality disease state video that we can use in all major markets.”