Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
On January 14, 2026, the ACM/SIGGRAPH Pioneers presented The Pioneers of Computer Graphics for Medical Applications.
It was the latest in our year-round series of panels on topics of importance to the computer graphics and interactive techniques communities.
Panelists were selected to provide a diverse overview on how computer graphics, 3D printing, extended reality and artificial intelligence have evolved and are being used today in the medical profession. Topics include:
- The earliest work in molecular visualization
- Animating surgical techniques for Abbot, Medtronic, and Johnson & Johnson, using Maya, ZBrush, V-Ray and Unreal
- Developing video games for physical therapy and interactive training for nurses
- 3D design and manufacture of prosthetic limbs
- AI-powered immersive platforms for applying extended reality in the healthcare space
Panelist Bios:
NELSON MAX has worked for most of his career at the University of California (Berkeley and Davis campuses, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory). His research interests are in the areas of scientific visualization, computer animation, realistic computer graphics rendering, multi-view stereo reconstruction, and augmented reality. In visualization he worked on molecular graphics, and on volume and flow visualization, particularly on irregular finite element meshes. He has rendered realistic lighting effects in clouds, trees, and water waves, and has produced numerous computer animations, shown at the annual ACM SIGGRAPH conferences, and in OMNIMAX stereo at the Fujitsu Pavilions at Expo ’85 in Tsukuba Japan, and Expo ’90 in Osaka Japan. He is a Fellow of the ACM, and the winner of its 2007 Steven A. Coons award.
RAYMOND (RANDY) NELSEN has been an animator and illustrator for over 30 years, and his passion has been creating engaging and highly interactive 3d content using state-of-the-art-software. His focus has been on medical animation - anatomy, both invasive and non-invasive surgical procedures, and medical devices. He also focused on creating 360 panoramic 3D imagery for VR. He's created original artwork for Fortune 500 Medical Device and Pharmaceutical companies including Abbot, Medtronic, and Johnson & Johnson, just to name a few. He is retired now, but in his career, he brought projects to life through a mix of CG illustration, digital visualization, VR design and 3D modeling. raymondnelsen.com
PAUL DIEFENBACH, PhD, is Associate Professor in Drexel University’s Digital Media department. He is founder of Drexel’s game research laboratory, the RePlay Lab, and leads projects in BCI, neuroplasticity, healthcare games, and serious games. He is also founder and CTO of two companies in healthcare: enablegames.com which provides active video games for physical therapy for people with disabilities, and cere-sim.com which develops medical training simulations for 20,000 nurses.
MATT DOMBROWSKI is a Professor of Emerging Media at UCF and Creative Director at Limbitless Solutions, a nonprofit organization that provides prosthetic arms at no cost to children with limb differences. In addition to designing and visualizing bionics, he develops video games that help children learn to use their prosthetics and improve muscle control through EMG-based gameplay. Learn more at Limbitless Solutions Overview
LAURA KUSUMOTO is a technology strategist and innovation leader whose career bridges immersive computing, enterprise innovation, and digital health. Today with IterationZero, Laura advises startups developing AI-powered immersive platforms for health and well-being. She serves on the Board of XR Women Global, the Advisory Board of the International Virtual Reality in Healthcare Association, and as Secretary of the Virtual World Society, where she leads the development of technical standards for XR in healthcare. iterationzero.io
Moderator:
DR. WILLIAM J. JOEL Professor Emeritus at Western Connecticut State University, recently retired from teaching Computer Science full time after thirty-nine years in academia. He is Director of the Computer Graphics & Animation Research Projects initiative, and a member of the Steering Committee for the Massive Collaborative Animation Projects Initiative.
Host:
ED KRAMER has over 30 years experience creating computer graphics work for commercials, broadcast television, and feature films - including 12 years as a Senior Technical Director at Industrial Light & Magic during the formative years of the industry. He spent another 12 years as Associate and Full Professor, teaching CGI production skills to the next generation of artists before retiring in 2023. Kramer has been Chair of the ACM/SIGGRAPH Pioneers group since 2019.
This panel was originally suggested by Pioneer Steering Committee member Bob Ellis (1938 - 2024).
On January 14, 2026, the ACM/SIGGRAPH Pioneers presented The Pioneers of Computer Graphics for Medical Applications.
It was the latest in our year-round series of panels on topics of importance to the computer graphics and interactive techniques communities.
Panelists were selected to provide a diverse overview on how computer graphics, 3D printing, extended reality and artificial intelligence have evolved and are being used today in the medical profession. Topics include:
- The earliest work in molecular visualization
- Animating surgical techniques for Abbot, Medtronic, and Johnson & Johnson, using Maya, ZBrush, V-Ray and Unreal
- Developing video games for physical therapy and interactive training for nurses
- 3D design and manufacture of prosthetic limbs
- AI-powered immersive platforms for applying extended reality in the healthcare space
Panelist Bios:
NELSON MAX has worked for most of his career at the University of California (Berkeley and Davis campuses, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory). His research interests are in the areas of scientific visualization, computer animation, realistic computer graphics rendering, multi-view stereo reconstruction, and augmented reality. In visualization he worked on molecular graphics, and on volume and flow visualization, particularly on irregular finite element meshes. He has rendered realistic lighting effects in clouds, trees, and water waves, and has produced numerous computer animations, shown at the annual ACM SIGGRAPH conferences, and in OMNIMAX stereo at the Fujitsu Pavilions at Expo ’85 in Tsukuba Japan, and Expo ’90 in Osaka Japan. He is a Fellow of the ACM, and the winner of its 2007 Steven A. Coons award.
RAYMOND (RANDY) NELSEN has been an animator and illustrator for over 30 years, and his passion has been creating engaging and highly interactive 3d content using state-of-the-art-software. His focus has been on medical animation - anatomy, both invasive and non-invasive surgical procedures, and medical devices. He also focused on creating 360 panoramic 3D imagery for VR. He's created original artwork for Fortune 500 Medical Device and Pharmaceutical companies including Abbot, Medtronic, and Johnson & Johnson, just to name a few. He is retired now, but in his career, he brought projects to life through a mix of CG illustration, digital visualization, VR design and 3D modeling. raymondnelsen.com
PAUL DIEFENBACH, PhD, is Associate Professor in Drexel University’s Digital Media department. He is founder of Drexel’s game research laboratory, the RePlay Lab, and leads projects in BCI, neuroplasticity, healthcare games, and serious games. He is also founder and CTO of two companies in healthcare: enablegames.com which provides active video games for physical therapy for people with disabilities, and cere-sim.com which develops medical training simulations for 20,000 nurses.
MATT DOMBROWSKI is a Professor of Emerging Media at UCF and Creative Director at Limbitless Solutions, a nonprofit organization that provides prosthetic arms at no cost to children with limb differences. In addition to designing and visualizing bionics, he develops video games that help children learn to use their prosthetics and improve muscle control through EMG-based gameplay. Learn more at Limbitless Solutions Overview
LAURA KUSUMOTO is a technology strategist and innovation leader whose career bridges immersive computing, enterprise innovation, and digital health. Today with IterationZero, Laura advises startups developing AI-powered immersive platforms for health and well-being. She serves on the Board of XR Women Global, the Advisory Board of the International Virtual Reality in Healthcare Association, and as Secretary of the Virtual World Society, where she leads the development of technical standards for XR in healthcare. iterationzero.io
Moderator:
DR. WILLIAM J. JOEL Professor Emeritus at Western Connecticut State University, recently retired from teaching Computer Science full time after thirty-nine years in academia. He is Director of the Computer Graphics & Animation Research Projects initiative, and a member of the Steering Committee for the Massive Collaborative Animation Projects Initiative.
Host:
ED KRAMER has over 30 years experience creating computer graphics work for commercials, broadcast television, and feature films - including 12 years as a Senior Technical Director at Industrial Light & Magic during the formative years of the industry. He spent another 12 years as Associate and Full Professor, teaching CGI production skills to the next generation of artists before retiring in 2023. Kramer has been Chair of the ACM/SIGGRAPH Pioneers group since 2019.
This panel was originally suggested by Pioneer Steering Committee member Bob Ellis (1938 - 2024).
