Press Release

President/CEO Harlon J. Wilson had a vision for the future when he opened Medical Animatics, Inc., a technology firm specializing in scientific and medical visualizations. Wilson’s dream is to change the way Americans think about health care: “What we are hoping for is a more informed, educated consumer of health care.”

MAI is helping achieve that goal by using cutting-edge technology to provide easily understood educational materials. These materials include animated visualizations of the body showing complex medical procedures. MAI uses animation, video, and new media to simplify the complex procedures.

MAI’s most recent product that is set for national launch on August 1st, 2006, was codeveloped with local LASIK Surgeon, Dr. Francis Price of Price Vision Group. The Patient Education Program for Refractive Surgery (PEPRS) shows patients exactly what will happen

during LASIK surgery so they understand every step of the procedure and what their role is before, during, and after the surgery. The product includes cutting-edge 3-D images of the eye, animations and video of the procedure, and a quiz to make sure that patients understand the critical information and are able to make an informed decision about having the surgery. Here’s what patients are saying about the new consent product:

–“It was user friendly and a lay person could understand it.”

–“Most medical practices will give you a document to sign to release them of liability. They will attempt to explain what you’re going to go through and they’ll give you a form to read that you may or may not understand, but with this program, you understand exactly what is going to happen. You understand the risks and you know what precautions to take. I’ve never had it explained that clearly before –the visuals and animation make it easy to understand. They help you to interpret what you are reading.”

–“…some documents require a lawyer to interpret instead of a doctor, but with this informed consent product, you don’t need a lawyer or a doctor to interpret. You understand it once you complete the training.”

Price Vision Group and other practices are currently using the application with great results. Not only does the application improve patient understanding, which leads to healthier outcomes, but the visually-rich interactive technology saves considerable time in educating the patients. It takes the place of hand drawn sketches by putting cuttingedge technology in the hands of physicians.

With MAI’s “predictive reporting” technology, the application enables the doctor to zero-in on areas that need further explanation, thus saving time while clarifying patients’ concerns. “The fact that the application tests the patient’s understanding of the content covered within each module is critical to insuring learning objectives have been met. The reporting and consent forms that are provided upon a patient’s completion of the training session help the doctor to provide further clarification while also providing necessary consent documentation for the patient’s medical record.” Tony Sterrett, Practice Administrator, Price Vision Group.

MAI was founded by graduates of the Indiana University Purdue University, School of Informatics New Media Arts & Sciences Program. Wilson’s local company, in its second year of business, did not start small. Although MAI is based in Indianapolis, they have already secured several national contracts with reputable clients including Price Vision Group, LLC, Princeton University, USA Diving, the McMillen Center for Health Education, Simdesk Technologies, and others.

Headquartered in downtown Indianapolis in the heart of the life sciences, bio-crossroads, and medical communities, Medical Animatics, Inc. is taking its place as a national leader in scientific and medical visualizations.

Source: Medical Animatics