Katie Hovany, MS
I am a medical illustrator and animator based in Chicago with an MS in Biomedical Visualization from the University of Illinois at Chicago. I have a strong background in orthopedic education and over 15 years of experience creating visuals for both patient and surgeon audiences, including my time in multimedia at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). Leveraging this expertise, I am now specializing in medical-legal illustration, offering tailored solutions to support litigation needs.
My approach emphasizes humanizing the party by incorporating patient likenesses when appropriate and collaborating closely with attorneys and medical experts. This personalized service sets me apart from larger graphics firms, ensuring a seamless and efficient process. I am able to create patient-specific 3D models from MRI and CT, which can then be rendered as still images, animation, or 3D prints.
My focus is on delivering visuals that are perfectly scaled to the narrative, avoiding unnecessary complexity. For instance, I will recommend simple before and after injury slides if they effectively convey the message, while also offering expertise in both 2D and 3D animation for cases where dynamic visuals make sense.
Judy Germany, Managing Editor at American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)
I had the pleasure of collaborating with Katie to create and update illustrations for the AAOS OrthoInfo website. Not only does Katie's work visually enhance the site, but it is truly illustrative, helping patients grasp often-complicated written concepts. There is an art to medical illustrations; everything has to be to scale and correctly oriented, in addition to being beautifully rendered. I could always count on Katie to create an accurate representation of any part of the musculoskeletal system, regardless of how nuanced, and to do so in a timely manner.
Katie is a perfectionist in the best possible way--someone who always strives to put forth her best work but is receptive to (in fact, seeks out) feedback from others. If my request was unclear, or if Katie believed it would be better to show something from a different perspective, she reached out to me to clarify or share her thoughts. When she felt she could improve upon an illustration, she took the initiative to go back and make the changes so the final product was where she wanted it to be. If I requested changes, I could count on her to incorporate them into the final design without having to remind her or go through multiple rounds of edits.
I receive numerous requests to reprint OrthoInfo illustrations in books, papers, theses, educational materials, and other publications, and that is a credit to Katie's talent. If our illustrations weren't accurate or well-drawn, others would not want to use them in their own scholarly works. In a nutshell, Katie helped to make OrthoInfo the exceptional educational resource that it is today. And on a personal note, she is one of the most authentic, creative, and witty people I have ever worked with.
Katie Waitzman RN BSN MEd Research Management System Analyst at Advocate Aurora Health
Katie was able to take a concept and create an animation to match the prototype design and function. You can see her animation work at www.cnicus.com under the Products tab.
Katie is easy to work with, timely in project completion and makes changes as they develop.