Hybrid Medical Animation

This animation takes a closer look at a fungal infection of the toenail and the key attributes of its invasion, including discoloration and brittleness of the nail, striations and thickness of the nail plate, and ultimately, the presence and proliferation of fungi at the nail bed.

One of the more important aspects for this project was to create a highly detailed, diseased nail cross-section, including anatomically correct layers (dorsal, intermediate, and ventral). This would allow us to feature the delivery vehicle and transport of cosmetic and antifungal ingredients through the nail plate.

Additional key challenges for this piece included creating a 3D toe with diseased nail, particle simulations of the key anti-fungal solution ingredients and their pathway down to the nail bed, and the destruction of fungal species (including yeasts, dermatophyte molds, and non-dermatophyte molds) at the nail bed.

Trichophyton rubrum – the fungal species we see at the end – is the most common type of nail fungus.