Scientific and Medical Animation services

A Focus On ALK-positive Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

In partnership with Wedgewood Communications, XVIVO developed two videos for Takeda Oncology to discuss lung cancer mechanism of disease and treatments.

This animation takes an extensive and detailed look at the sub-populations of patients who have non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which affects about 198,000 new patients in the United States each year. The animation discussed the variety of possible mutations seen in lung cancer, with a focus on NSCLCs with an ALK mutation. With so many acronyms to be used in the animation, we were challenged to clearly present the lung cancer types and the possible genetic mutations found in the tumor cells.

Learn more about this animation in our blog, Demystifying the Lung Cancer Alphabet Soup.

CONDUIT™ Interbody Platform

XVIVO and DePuy Synthes (a Johnson & Johnson company) recently partnered on an animation of their CONDUIT™ Interbody medical devices to help healthcare providers understand the level of engineering and detail that is embedded in the devices, with the goal of optimizing efficacy. The animation is used as playback loop in a conference booth and as an asset for live presentations, with images from the animation used for print and digital enduring materials.

Learn more about this animation in our blog, CONDUIT™ Interbody Platform.

XERMELO MOA

XVIVO partnered with Lexicon Pharmaceuticals to create a series of high end medical animations that provide an overview of carcinoid syndrome diarrhea (CSD). The program illustrates how XERMELO, through the inhibition of TPH, turns down the overproduction of serotonin within neuroendocrine tumor cells, helping patients gain control over carcinoid syndrome.

While we typically represent cellular and molecular mechanisms in a realistic manner, for this program we re-envisioned cancer cells as grungy steam punk factories, peppered with smoke stacks billowing out serotonin.

Protac Platform

The biopharmaceutical company Arvinas Inc. has taken a unique approach to develop investigational therapies for hard-to-treat diseases, including cancers. XVIVO, in collaboration with Wyant Simboli and their client, Arvinas Inc., helped communicate the unconventional mechanism of action for a new class of drugs that engage the body’s own protein disposal system to target cancers and other difficult-to-treat diseases.

Arvinas’ approach is to tag a protein implicated in a disease with their proprietary Proteolysis-Targeting Chimera, or PROTAC. PROTACs are small molecules that can be tailored to tag particular proteins. The PROTAC also binds to a naturally-occurring protein that ultimately results in the disease protein being degraded by the body’s natural disposal system.

The XVIVO animation showcased the multiple steps in the natural pathway for protein degradation and the tunable structure of the PROTAC molecule. The animation gave Arvinas a crucial tool to accurately and succinctly illustrate the PROTAC mechanism of action.

Learn more about this animation in our blog, Illustrating the Unconventional: PROTAC Technology for Disease Therapy.

MECHANISM OF CILIA

The XVIVO team collaborated on a project with Dr. Daniela Nicastro, Associate Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Nicastro and her research colleagues had completed some complex and ground-breaking research into how cilia and flagella generate their whip-like motion, and they asked XVIVO to help them visualize the results.

Dr. Nicastro’s group used a novel technique to visualize the molecular machines inside flagella to better understand how they work and, in the process, they confirmed a previously unproven hypothesis. Their research showed that flagella get their whip-like motion by a coordinated activation of motor proteins on one side of the flagella and inhibition of motor proteins on the opposing side.

XVIVO was tasked with taking the research results and creating a 3D animation that helped viewers better appreciate how the motor proteins in flagella work. The final animation steps through the process of flagellar beating by diving into the flagella structure and bringing the research to life.

Learn more about this animation in our blog, Activate and Inhibit: How Cilia Flagella Move

Biostage Cellframe Technology

About 456,000 new cases of esophageal cancer occur each year. In the United States alone, there are 17,000 new cases. Esophageal cancer is treated with an esophagectomy, which has a 90-day mortality rate as high as 19%. Biostage is pioneering a new technology to regenerate the patient’s native esophagus through Cellframe Technology. Two weeks before the esophagectomy, stem cells are extract and incubated with the Cellspan implant in a bioreactor. This animation shows how Cellframe Technology works to regenerate esophagus tissue and muscle through stem cells as well as the Cellspan Implant process.

Learn more about how XVIVO is a trusted partner for start-up companies in our blog, Start-up with Style: Launch your Visuals with XVIVO.

Glutamate Modulation

Glutamate is the most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain. Release of glutamate is essential for normal function of neurons, but the levels of this neurotransmitter must be tightly regulated to avoid toxic effects on neurons.

XVIVO partnered with Biohaven to animate the glutamate story. The script details normal glutamate signaling, dysfunctional glutamate signaling and the mechanism of action of Biohaven’s investigational agent trigriluzole, a novel neuroprotective agent to modulate glutamate neurotransmission. Trigriluzole is expected to reduce the neurotoxicity associated with excessive glutamatergic excitation, which is implicated in many disorders involving the central nervous system.

Voxelotor An Investigational Drug for Sickle Cell Disease

In collaboration with Global Blood Therapeutics, our folks here at XVIVO created this medical animation to illustrate the mechanism of action of a potential drug candidate for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD). SCD is caused by a point mutation in the hemoglobin gene, resulting in the aggregation and polymerization of deoxygenated hemoglobin. This causes structural deformation of red blood cells into the characteristic “sickle” shape, which can lead to cellular lysis and vaso-occlusion, impairing oxygen delivery and causing a number of health effects. Voxelotor is an investigational disease-modifying drug that binds to hemoglobin and increases its affinity to oxygen, keeping it in its oxygenated state. By diluting the concentration of deoxygenated hemoglobin, mutant hemoglobin may be kept from polymerizing, thus preventing cellular sickling and its many clinical consequences.

To view a related animation click here: SB-030: A Novel Matrix Regulator.

Neuralink

XVIVO created an animation that provides a 30,000-foot overview of neurophysiological signaling in the human brain to help the team at Neuralink describe the science that underpins their brain-machine interface development. Neuralink is developing a brain-machine interface that can simultaneously record from specific brain areas, interpret the incoming neurological signals, and selectively stimulate regions of the brain to elicit specific desired responses.  

Brain-machine interfaces (BMI) are designed to perform tasks such as translating neuronal information into control instructions for an external computer or prosthetic arm. In principle, patients with brain disorders as varied as Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury, or sensory impairment could benefit from a device similar to Neuralink’s BMI. The first application of the Link will be to help people with paralysis regain independence through brain control of computers and mobile devices to assist them with communication. 

While it is no easy task to animate the structure and function of something as complicated as the human brain, XVIVO delicately balanced scientific accuracy with visual clarity to help contextualize Neuralink’s work. 

Learn more about this animation in our blog, Peering into the Brain: Neuralink’s brain-machine interface.