3D Heart Project
CATEGORY
Information Design, Design Research, Package design
CLIENT
Stollery Children’s Hospital
(University of Alberta)
YEAR
2021-present
It is estimated that 1% of children born will have a congenital heart defect (CHD). These defects vary in severity, but are notoriously difficult for patients, families, and resident doctors to understand and visualize. In medical school, current educational practice leans heavily on memorization and diagrammatic representations of CHD. Patient education for visualizing what congenital heart defects look like relies on 2D illustrations and cardiologist explanations. Both these methods have not been entirely successful, and present a gap in the educational tools to understand CHD.
In this extensive project, I worked with Designers, Cardiologists, researchers, students, patients, and families to develop tools for CHD education. This project began at the Learning Design Studio at the University of Alberta and continues to yield interactive and educational heart models, instructional videos, learning tools, and description of congenital heart defects.
Deliverables
The project was founded in 2019 and aimed to develop tools better visualize CHD. 3D printed hearts and small hand held games were the first tools to be developed for this project.
Educational Tools
2019-2020
Website
Deliverables
The 3D heart team began to develop a free, open-sourced virtual heart library with some of the most common heart defects. This is an excellent resource for patients and families to learn.
2020-Present
Virtual Heart Library
Deliverables
Developed recently, myself and my coworker designed the single ventricle palliation teaching kit. This is a national initiative to help patients and families better understand single ventricle heart defects. This kit has several educational features that help a cardiologist explain necessary heart surgeries to families and patients. The kit contains: a normal heart model for comparison purposes, coloured 3D-printed hearts to demonstrate the blood flow and structural differences, and qr codes to be associated with the virtual library for each model to categorize each heart.
In terms of practicality, the toolkit was developed to be portable and durable, easy to carry, and small in size as cardiologists work in various rooms and transports their materials. The kit also needed to survive being mailed across Canada and to Australia, and robust enough to withstand the hospital environment. The heart models could not rattle around as they would break. The kit also displays the 3d heart branding!
Teaching kit
2022-2023
Deliverables
The Cardiac Capsule is our newest addition to the 3dHeart Project! The Cardiac Capsule is designed to be a special take-home artifact that helps patients visualize and display their own special heart. When requested, the design team will 3D print the patient's heart and will provide a Cardiac Capsule for the patient. Each Cardiac Capsule features the 3D model, a display light, and includes educational activities, stickers, and a first aid kit should their heart need a repair.
Cardiac Capsule
2022-2023
Branding
Logo
Stacked Logo
Brand Story
The concept behind the 3D Hearts Project’s branding represents the multiple layers of significance this project brings to patients, families, and learners. At its core, this brand strives to represent the intersection of health, family, technology, and the beauty of life and learning. To accomplish this, we use photographs, graphic lines, colour, and dimension to create a unique collage style imagery featured throughout this brand.
In addition, the 3D Hearts Project’s brand speaks to these following themes:
• 2D to 3D
• Transformation
• Removing Barriers
• Building up and collecting
• Gaining calm/control
Brand Standards Guide
Banner
Outreach
Part of the mandate of the 3d Hearts Project is public education and outreach. We attend various events and design interactive booths and games for children and the general public. Some of the events we have attending in Edmonton AB have been the Telus World of Science, the Stollery Snowflake Galla, K-Days 2023 and UofA Unveiled Alumni night 2024.
This project was created in collaboration with my colleagues Cindy Chen and Patrick von Hauff.