Background:
Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is a standard surgical procedure for treating damage and disorders (compression of the spinal cord and/or irritation of the nerve roots) in the cervical spine.
3D animation ACDF:
Copyright for visual material: Inselspital Bern
Music: Kevin McLeod – Impact prelude – License: Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0)
Project description:
We created a 3D animation for Inselspital Bern about the “anterior cervical discectomy and fusion” (ACDF) procedure. The video is used during doctor-patient consultations to help patients better understand the upcoming procedure.
The video begins with a transparent human figure with a skeleton, a trachea, and an esophagus.

The surgical approach is from the front (throat).

To access the damaged intervertebral disc, the esophagus and trachea are gently moved aside through careful dissection.

In the next step, the damaged intervertebral disc is removed, leaving parts of the lateral fibrous ring (annulus fibrosus) in place.

In the animation, no cage is used and no other form of stiffening is performed; instead, a movable, artificial intervertebral disc is inserted into the intervertebral space.

The artificial intervertebral disc consists of an upper and lower end plate and a movable core that acts as a joint. This preserves the mobility of the cervical spine.

Project details 3D animation ACDF
Content: Medical 3D animation
Use: Information film for patient for use on website or doctor’s consultation
Specs: Full-HD, ~1:00 min.
Client: Inselspital Bern, Universitätsklinik für Neurochirurgie, Dr. Andreas Nowacki
The rights to use the visual material shown here belong to the client; use of the images shown here is not permitted. Images and videos are protected by watermarks.