Wednesday, April 16, 2020 - 2:54 p.m.
Maeve Doyle
Avesta Rastan, a 2019 graduate of the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications, contributed an infographic to the program's COVID-19 Visual Media Resource page .
Rastan, who specialized in biomedical visualization design, created the illustrated infographic for a general audience. She says that while there is widespread awareness of the virus, many people do not know how it affects the human body.
Rastan says that she researched the events that occur after infection to satisfy her own curiosity. "But I thought that if I was wondering this, others must be as well. As a medical illustrator, I felt responsible to act on this communication gap."
The infographic shows the journey of SARS-CoV-2 from the nose, mouth or eyes to the alveoli in the lungs. Carefully designed illustrations depict an alveolus as it transforms from healthy, to moderately, to severely infected. It also explains the body's own immune response after infection, which can lead to respiratory distress, septic shock, multi-organ failure and even death.
"I believe that understanding how COVID-19 can affect the human body empowers people to take action to protect themselves and others from getting infected," she says.
Rastan is a creative innovation associate at INVIVO Communications in Toronto. As part of the creative team there, she develops media for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Rastan also owns and operates Azuravesta Design, a design, animation and biomedical communications studio.
"I hope that this piece makes the SARS-CoV-2 virus less of an invisible enemy and more of a physical entity that people can actively protect themselves against through the proper preventative measures shown in the infographic," she says. "Knowledge is power."
Rastan has made her COVID-19 infographic available for free use under a CC BY-ND license, and anyone can download it from her website for both digital and print media.