Case Study: Visualizing the Journey of Gallium-68 for Top Hospital Service

Client: Top Hospital Service (THS) | Project: Gallium-68 Production & Mechanism of Action | Service: 3D Medical Animation

Nuclear medicine operates at the intersection of advanced physics, complex biology, and precision engineering. For Top Hospital Service (THS), a leader in medical equipment distribution, the challenge was to tell the complete story of Gallium-68 (Ga68-PSMA) – from its synthesis in the lab to its diagnostic mechanism within the human body.

This was not just a biological visualization; it was a technical showcase of a complete nuclear medicine ecosystem, featuring specific hardware like the FastLab, Lemer Pax Posijet, and the GE Omni Legend scanner.

Here is how Animiotics visualized the invisible journey of a radiopharmaceutical.

The Challenge: Connecting Engineering with Biology

The diagnostic process for prostate cancer involves multiple invisible steps. THS needed to demonstrate two distinct narratives simultaneously:

The Workflow: How their specific hardware handles the safe production and administration of radioactive isotopes.
The Science: How the Ga68-PSMA ligand finds and illuminates cancer cells in the body.

Explaining “radiopharmaceutical internalization” via text is abstract. Visualizing it allows doctors and patients to trust the efficacy of the procedure.

The Solution: A Macro-to-Micro Visual Journey

We structured the animation as a continuous journey, using seamless camera transitions to move between the industrial scale of the hospital and the microscopic scale of the cell.

1. Visualizing Synthesis and Safety

The narrative begins in the laboratory. We modeled the FastLab system with high-fidelity texturing to show the precise filling of vials.

The Focus: Accuracy. We visualized the distinct “radioactive glow” (Cherenkov radiation aesthetic) of the purified Ga68 as it is transferred into lead-shielded containers.

The Administration: We showcased the Lemer Pax Posijet in a bright, sterile hospital environment, demonstrating the automated, safe intravenous delivery to the patient.

2. The Biological Mechanism of Action (MoA)

Once the tracer enters the catheter, the camera dives into the bloodstream. This is where our proficiency in organic modeling shines.

The Environment: We created a bustling intravascular environment filled with erythrocytes, platelets, and lymphocytes.

The Binding: The core scientific moment occurs when the Ga68-PSMA molecule encounters a prostate cancer cell. We visualized the specific binding to the PSMA receptors on the cell surface, followed by the internalization of the complex – turning the invisible tumor cell into a glowing beacon.

3. From Cellular to Clinical

To connect the biology back to the diagnosis, we utilized a cinematic “pull-back” technique.

Contrast: The animation pulls back to reveal the prostate gland, showing the stark contrast between healthy tissue (dark) and the tumor mass (glowing), illustrating the diagnostic precision of the radiopharmaceutical.

The Scan: The final sequence reveals the patient inside the GE Omni Legend PET/CT scanner. We transition through the control room glass to the monitor, showing the final clinical result: a clear, accurate scan of the prostate.

The Result: Total Process Transparency

By combining hard-surface modeling (for the machines) with organic soft-body simulation (for the cells), Animiotics provided THS with a versatile asset.

For Doctors: It demonstrates the workflow efficiency of the specific THS equipment.
For Patients: It demystifies the scary concept of “radiation,” replacing fear with an understanding of the targeted, “search-and-destroy” nature of the diagnosis.

This project stands as a testament to the power of full-cycle medical animation: visualizing the machine, the molecule, and the medicine.