Medical inflatables: Let’s walk inside a human brain

Matt Cowan is a staff reporter for Ragan Communications.

Isaac Asimov once wrote about people exploring the human body by shrinking themselves to a microscopic level. But rather than inventing a shrink ray, one company has chosen to do the reverse.

Medical Inflatables is a company that produces walk-through exhibits that are modeled after the human brain and the heart, and include displays that help educate the public about how these organs work and diseases that can afflict them.

"It's a great educational tool," says Lauren Hill, founder and president of the Houston-based Medical Inflatables. "Doctors embrace it because it makes their jobs easier."

Standing 12 feet tall, up to 21 feet long, and up to 15 feet wide, the MEGA Heart and MEGA Brain are currently both available for hospitals interested in engaging their communities in a creative fashion. The company is developing the MEGA Lungs, and has done custom requests in the past as well.

The exhibits are usually manufactured for hospital events, museum openings, fairs, fundraisers, and other health care functions, providing a unique way to help inform people about the human body. "They put a positive spin on health care events," Hill says, and the company is eager to help hospitals pitch the events to local media to gain some positive PR for everyone.

The company has worked with board-certified medical professionals to ensure the accuracy of each portable, blow-up inflatable. They have also been featured on nationally-syndicated shows such as Dr. Oz and The Doctors, providing a way to reach out and communicate about their products to the general public.

What's next for Medical Inflatables?

The company has done more than 100 events across the country, and has also begun to expand overseas, with the first international order coming from a health care provider in Saudi Arabia.