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AI-based character generation for disease stories: A case study using epidemiological data to highlight preventable risk factors

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelForschungPeer-Review

Autorschaft

  • Sarah Mittenentzwei
  • Laura A. Garrison
  • Beatrice Budich
  • Kai Lawonn
  • Alexander Dockhorn

Externe Organisationen

  • Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg
  • University of Bergen (UiB)
  • Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Fachzeitschrifti-com
PublikationsstatusElektronisch veröffentlicht (E-Pub) - 18 Feb. 2025

Abstract

Data-driven storytelling has grown significantly, becoming prevalent in various fields, including healthcare. In medical narratives, characters are crucial for engaging audiences, making complex medical information accessible, and potentially influencing positive behavioral and lifestyle changes. However, designing characters that are both educational and relatable to effectively engage audiences is challenging. We propose a GenAI-assisted pipeline for character design in data-driven medical stories, utilizing Stable Diffusion, a deep learning text-to-image model, to transform data into visual character representations. This approach reduces the time and artistic skills required to create characters that reflect the underlying data. As a proof-of-concept, we generated and evaluated two characters in a crowd-sourced case study, assessing their authenticity to the underlying data and consistency over time. In a qualitative evaluation with four experts with knowledge in design and health communication, the characters were discussed regarding their quality and refinement opportunities. The characters effectively conveyed various aspects of the data, such as emotions, age, and body weight. However, generating multiple consistent images of the same character proved to be a significant challenge. This underscores a key issue in using generative AI for character creation: the limited control designers have over the output.

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AI-based character generation for disease stories: A case study using epidemiological data to highlight preventable risk factors. / Mittenentzwei, Sarah; Garrison, Laura A.; Budich, Beatrice et al.
in: i-com, 18.02.2025.

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelForschungPeer-Review

Mittenentzwei, S., Garrison, L. A., Budich, B., Lawonn, K., Dockhorn, A., Preim, B., & Meuschke, M. (2025). AI-based character generation for disease stories: A case study using epidemiological data to highlight preventable risk factors. i-com. Vorabveröffentlichung online. https://doi.org/10.1515/icom-2024-0041
Mittenentzwei S, Garrison LA, Budich B, Lawonn K, Dockhorn A, Preim B et al. AI-based character generation for disease stories: A case study using epidemiological data to highlight preventable risk factors. i-com. 2025 Feb 18. Epub 2025 Feb 18. doi: 10.1515/icom-2024-0041
Mittenentzwei, Sarah ; Garrison, Laura A. ; Budich, Beatrice et al. / AI-based character generation for disease stories : A case study using epidemiological data to highlight preventable risk factors. in: i-com. 2025.
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