Assignment: Illustrate the definitive surgical atlas titled, Surgical Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation: A Comprehensive Guide to Performing the Cox Maze IV Procedure. This book is a collaborative effort between Dr. Jonathan Philpott, Dr. Christian Zemlin, Dr. Ralph Damiano, AtriCure, and Elsevier.
Challenge: There were two main challenges in this atlas. The first challenge was understanding and clearly conveying the movement of electrical waves throughout the atrial tissue of the heart. The second major challenge was the shear volume of the task; 324 illustrations plus the book cover. Adam Questell was personally recommended by Elsevier as the best candidate to complete the task.
Results: The book has enjoyed worldwide exposure and continues to train surgeons in both the understanding of and correct treatment procedures for patients with atrial fibrillation.
“Adam Questell, our illustrator who created them (the illustrations), went to extraordinary length to understand the many, often complex aspects of wave propagation we wanted to explain and to find the most intuitive ways to present them. We look at him as the silent fourth author of the book.” – Dr. Jonathan Philpott
Media: Medical illustration, surgical illustration, information graphics
Techniques: 3D Illustration, 3D modeling, compositing, line illustration (2D)
Case Studies