Influence of Expertise on Perception and Understanding on Viewing a Molecular Animation of the Lung Endothelial Surface Layer and its Role in Inflammation

At the University of Illinois College of Medicine Anesthesiology Research department, lung trauma researchers aimed to generate interest in the importance of the lung endothelial surface layer in inflammation. However, they had difficulty describing the dynamic molecular structure of the lung endothelial surface layer and its role in inflammatory processes in the lung. A 3D animation was created because of its ability to communicate a rich and complex molecular narrative. Prior studies have shown that, for scientific animations, level of expertise of the viewer influences how an animation is perceived. This study aimed to improve lung trauma researchers’ ability to generate interest in their research and to assess if prior knowledge affects how biomedical animations are perceived in terms of engagement by analyzing eye-tracking.