Blausen Medical Communications was founded in Houston, Texas, in 1991 by Bruce Blausen, a gifted physician and artist and visionary medical illustrator who took notice of the power inherent in rich media for alleviating patient concerns. With the goal of providing consumers and students with free access to high-quality educational content, including medical and scientific animation and illustration, Blausen created The Human Atlas, the world’s largest 3D medical animation library.

The Origin of The Human Atlas

The Human Atlas was inspired in part by Blausen’s elderly mother, who became frightened when her doctor ordered an angioplasty. She expressed her concerns to Blausen, telling him that she was scared because she did not know anything at all about angioplasty. Although she had tried a simple Google search, she was quickly overwhelmed by the wide-ranging results. In an effort to help, Blausen compiled some medical animations, added an explanatory voiceover, copied it to a VHS tape, and presented it to her.

The next thing Blausen knew, his mother was requesting more and more information on different medical topics each week – diabetes, depression, glaucoma, etc. Concerned, he asked her what was going on, and she told him she was making the requests on behalf of her friends at her retirement home, all of whom were seeking easy-to-understand information because they were eager to learn more about their medical conditions and treatments. Blausen then realized the extent of the need among patients and consumers for this type of application, and the idea for The Human Atlas was conceived.

Sometime later, after implementing The Human Atlas via a website, Blausen was at a hospital awaiting the arrival of his second son when he was astonished to discover that the hospital staff was unaware that this extensive content existed – even though it was incorporated into the hospital’s own website. This realization sparked his idea for the development of The Human Atlas mobile app, which has since received numerous awards and been named the best point-of-care-patient education app on the market.

How It Works

Blausen created The Human Atlas with the patient in mind. He envisioned a patient attempting to read his or her own medical records and seeing terms that he or she is unable to comprehend, such as “myocardial infarction,” “tomotherapy,” “ACL tear,” or “Cyberknife therapy,” and then turning to the web for help. Available as a free web browser app, Blausen It will scan the online text of any website for the medical terms included in its glossary, highlight those terms in the content, and allow a user to click on any highlighted term to link to the relevant Blausen educational content. The user can then view related animations, illustrations, and models in dynamic and captivating full-screen mode. Options include animation with narration, animation alone, a 3D model that the user can rotate, and a labeled illustration. In addition, the app will suggest other related topics the user may be interested in. For example, if a user selects and views information on prostate cancer, the app may suggest further topics, such as chemotherapy, tomotheraphy, radiation sickness, and more.

With this innovative application, Blausen has truly answered the need for a simple-to-use visual aid to enhance a patient’s understanding of medical information. Blausen provides a basic foundation of knowledge – for free – to anyone who may be confused and interested in learning more about a health topic, needs to explain a condition to a parent, spouse, child, or friend in an effort to alleviate their fears, or simply wants to take charge of his or her own health and well-being.

Taylor Thomas is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Mr. Thomas is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to Houston – health / surgery / medical / wellness.

Taylor Thomas is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Mr. Thomas is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to Houston – health / surgery / medical / wellness. http://www.yellowpages.com/houston-tx/laser-spine-institute

Author Bio: Taylor Thomas is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Mr. Thomas is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to Houston – health / surgery / medical / wellness.

Category: Medical Business
Keywords: Houston, health, surgery, medical, wellness