{"id":96992,"date":"2019-11-18T13:52:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T18:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=96992"},"modified":"2023-02-01T14:25:44","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T19:25:44","slug":"accurate-art","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2019\/accurate-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Accurate Art"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin magazine-block-editorial-leadin is-style-text-over-image has-media has-box has-media-focus-center-middle has-text-position-x-center has-quaternary-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1185\" height=\"684\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Banner-1.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Banner-1.jpg 1185w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Banner-1-636x367.jpg 636w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Banner-1-1024x591.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Banner-1-768x443.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1185px) 100vw, 1185px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">During CFA\u2019s medical illustration internship, Olivia James (CFA\u201920) created illustrations demonstrating the best entry points in the skull for neurosurgeons.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">CFA Alumni<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAccurate Art\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Medical illustrations by CFA students show surgeons exactly where to place their scalpels<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar magazine-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">November 18, 2019<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/authors\/andrew-thurston\/\">Andrew Thurston<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph magazine-block-editorial-introparagraph is-style-dropcap-boxed has-dropcap has-dropcap-color-secondary\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph-content\"><p>A meningioma of the cavernous sinus\u00a0is an unwelcome diagnosis. A slow-growing tumor in a heavily networked part of the brain, it gradually places more and more pressure on the areas around it. Pain, facial numbness, and vision problems can follow. The treatment (squeamish readers should skip ahead a few lines) is equally unpleasant. Neurosurgeons peel back the scalp, drill holes\u2014called burrs\u2014into the skull, lift a bone flap, then remove the tumor. Precision is everything.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A key part of teaching surgeons exactly where to put those burrs is to provide them with illustrations of the best entry points. Some of the most up-to-date illustrations were created by Olivia James.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During a recent CFA internship, James (CFA\u201920) worked with neurosurgeon&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.dfhcc.harvard.edu\/insider\/member-detail\/member\/w-linda-bi-md-phd\/\">W. Linda Bi<\/a>&nbsp;and certified medical illustrators at Boston-based&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/illustratedverdict.com\/\">Illustrated Verdict<\/a>&nbsp;to learn how to draw burrs. A painting major who\u2019s minoring in arts administration, James spent a semester drawing and shading images of a human skull. Four color patches\u2014continental swathes of blue, green, red, and yellow\u2014cover much of each skull to highlight the main operation areas; small circles show the optimal burr locations. James and two other students were admitted to the medical illustration internship, one of CFA\u2019s newest, in fall 2018 and spring 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before then, James\u2019 artistic output had largely been oil paintings of people and objects confronting \u201csocietal norms concerning body image\u201d; today, her burr drawings are being used in Bi\u2019s presentations to other neurosurgeons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMedical illustration, like any powerful graphic presentation of data, has a message, a story line, a hypothesis, a data fact we\u2019re conveying,\u201d says Bi, an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital, Harvard University. \u201cI increasingly appreciate how an image or a well-designed graphic is so much more powerful than any lecture I can give.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-photoessay magazine-block-editorial-photoessay wp-block-photoessay js-block-editorial-photoessay\"><div class=\"photo-row-thirds-3\">\n<div class=\"photo-3\"><div class=\"wp-block-photoessay-media\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"591\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Banner-1-1024x591.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-96994\" srcset=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Banner-1-1024x591.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Banner-1-636x367.jpg 636w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Banner-1-768x443.jpg 768w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Banner-1.jpg 1185w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3>Footsteps of da Vinci<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Illustration has been a key part of medical teaching for centuries, from&nbsp;<em>Gray\u2019s Anatomy<\/em>&nbsp;illustrator Henry Vandyke Carter in the mid-19th century and Leonardo da Vinci in the Renaissance to the pioneers of the Hellenistic period who created the first anatomical illustrations on papyrus. Even as technology now shines a light on much of the body\u2019s inner workings, medical illustrations still have a range of uses, from elucidating dreary textbook prose to enlivening pharmaceutical sales pitches; illustrations capture what even modern imaging technology cannot: subcellular processes and the relationships between different parts of the body. The best illustrators are fine artists but also able to grasp complex scientific concepts. A handful become board-certified, qualifying their work to stand up to interrogation in a criminal or medical malpractice court case. There are fewer than 400 certified medical illustrators in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote magazine-block-bu-pullquote alignwide has-image-focus-center-middle has-quaternary-theme\"><div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote-inner\"><figure><\/figure><blockquote><div class=\"container-lockup\"><div class=\"container-icon-outer\"><div class=\"container-icon-inner\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"container-text\"><hr\/><div class=\"quote-sizing\">MY DRAWINGS WOULD GO THROUGH EDIT AFTER EDIT. I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF THE EYE DESPITE NOT BEING A STEM MAJOR. <\/div><footer class=\"caption\"><br\/><strong>NATALIE CHAREWICZ<\/strong><\/footer><hr\/><\/div><\/div><\/blockquote><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>One member of that select group is John F. Harrington (CFA\u201985), founder and chairman of the board of directors at Illustrated Verdict. He helped establish CFA\u2019s medical illustration internship and reviewed applicant portfolios. The first batch of applicants had little direct experience, so Harrington and his colleagues looked for students with certain traits and skills that could translate to the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMedical illustration has to be factually accurate: it can\u2019t be close, can\u2019t be approximate,\u201d he says. \u201cWe recognize the students are in the nascent stages of their careers, but if there are some seed crystals inside their work that say this person is very detail-oriented, that\u2019s what we\u2019re looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A student\u2019s rendering skills\u2014their use of shading and texturing to add realism\u2014must be \u201cvery clean,\u201d says Melissa Rockefeller, also a certified medical illustrator and chief medical illustrator at Illustrated Verdict. \u201cWe look for an understanding of proportion and perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>The Process of Perfection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The first step for the medical illustration interns was to meet one-on-one with Bi for their individual assignments, getting her direction on the subject matter and the audience\u2014and diving into the science. That wasn\u2019t always easy for Bi to convey or for the students to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat seems obvious to our mind from a medical perspective may not be so when conveying it to a student who has never encountered medicine before,\u201d says Bi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the interns, Natalie Charewicz, was given the challenge of illustrating a new technique for scanning the optic nerve with an MRI machine; Bi says the new approach \u201chelps highlight the fluid space around the nerve, as well as the relationship to the nerve pathologies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"669\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Medical-Illustration-1024x669.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-96996\" srcset=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Medical-Illustration-1024x669.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Medical-Illustration-636x416.jpeg 636w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Medical-Illustration-768x502.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Medical-Illustration-1536x1004.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Medical-Illustration-2048x1339.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Medical-Illustration-1530x1000.jpeg 1530w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Natalie Charewicz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Bi requested a series of carefully placed elementary shapes to demonstrate the procedure: a cylinder sliced through with rectangles and circles. But the simple brief was filled with subtle complexity. The illustration took Charewicz weeks, and many iterations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy drawings would go through edit after edit,\u201d says Charewicz. Like all of the students, she did most of her illustrating on an iPad, working at Illustrated Verdict and meeting with Bi and her colleagues weekly. \u201cI actually learned a lot about the structure of the eye despite not being a STEM major. Getting the drawing to be perfect was quite difficult\u2014the angle had to perfectly match the reality of the imaging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Harrington, who also founded the healthcare training and assessment company Advanced Practice Strategies, Charewicz\u2019s perseverance typifies a trait he consistently sees in artists he employs: discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat I really appreciate about artists in particular is that whether you\u2019re a musician or in theater or fine arts, there\u2019s a certain work ethic,\u201d he says. \u201cYou understand you can\u2019t just jump in and immediately achieve mastery of the skill; you have to respect the process, and the process of mastery takes time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe willingness to experiment and the discipline to look critically at your work, to stop, step back, and have the courage to say, \u2018I\u2019m going to scrap this and start over,\u2019 that\u2019s absolutely crucial to being successful in any artistic endeavor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Emme Enojado (CAS\u201921) had a head start on her peers when it came to grasping the science: she\u2019s a neuroscience major minoring in visual arts. For her, there was still plenty of research to be done before she started drawing\u2014\u201cthat\u2019s about half of the process,\u201d she says\u2014but it was her artistic talent that was stretched the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy illustration skills have grown exponentially throughout the past year,\u201d says Enojado. \u201cAnd also the attention to detail, noticing how a tiny bit of red in the eye, for example, can make such a difference in what you\u2019re trying to convey\u2014the ability to bring colors, shading, using those artistic techniques to make an image both realistic and comprehendible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"636\" height=\"368\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2023\/01\/Accurate-Art-Medical-Illustration-Figure-1-Table-2-636x368-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-96995\"\/><figcaption>Emme Enojado (CAS\u201921) created a set of illustrations showing the House-Brackmann scale, a classification used to grade stages of facial paralysis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Those techniques were tested in a set of illustrations showing the House-Brackmann scale, a classification used to grade stages of facial paralysis. Bi and Enojado considered every detail, including the age, skin tone, and even hair color of the model. An older person\u2019s wrinkles, for example, could detract from the nuances Bi might want to show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAll of those small details are important to us from the medical storytelling perspective,\u201d says Bi, \u201cbut may not be immediately obvious from a purely aesthetic perspective.\u201d Enojado\u2019s series, which shows the gradually drooping face of a middle-aged Caucasian woman with smooth skin and light brown hair, will be used to educate physicians on treatment approaches; her work will also be featured in a research paper Bi is writing for the&nbsp;<em>Journal of Neurosurgery<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBeing acknowledged as an important part of a team of world-renowned experts and illustrators is empowering for a young artist and is an extremely valuable learning experience,\u201d Harrington says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-end-of-article\">\u201cYou have a physician who\u2019s the lead subject matter expert, and your job is to take that information and turn it into something,\u201d he says. \u201cEach person has a role; it\u2019s recognizing, \u2018This person is a world-renowned expert, but I\u2019m really valuable because I can do something they can\u2019t.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A key part of teaching surgeons exactly where to put those burrs is to provide them with illustrations of the best entry points. Some of the most up-to-date illustrations were created by Olivia James. During a recent CFA internship, James (CFA\u201920) worked with neurosurgeon&nbsp;W. Linda Bi&nbsp;and certified medical illustrators at Boston-based&nbsp;Illustrated Verdict&nbsp;to learn how to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6310,"featured_media":96994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[],"bu-publication":[191],"magazine-article-category":[372,379],"magazine-topic":[],"news-article-category":[],"news-topic":[],"bu_edition":[385],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/96992"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6310"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96992"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/96992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97677,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/96992\/revisions\/97677"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96992"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=96992"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-article-category?post=96992"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-topic?post=96992"},{"taxonomy":"news-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article-category?post=96992"},{"taxonomy":"news-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topic?post=96992"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=96992"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=96992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}