Jul
01
To show the long-term effects of severe Covid on the lungs, the Graphics desk created visual renderings based on data from CT scans. Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. Marlene Rodríguez used an inhaler to help her walk up the stairs. In his backyard, Andy Muñoz hefted his oxygen machine onto his lap to sit on a swing beside his son. Tom Kennedy brought his machine to the golf course. All of these patients were suffering from the lasting effects of severe Covid-19 infections. Signs of their lung damage — frequent breaks during previously easy activities, a clear tube tucked under the nose and behind the ears — were evident. But what was visible was only part of the story. Severe Covid cases often leave behind a hidden map of destruction, along with indications of the body’s attempts to heal. To show these effects, a recent project from the Graphics and Science desks at The New York Times looked inside the human body in a way no other Times article had before. Using data from CT scans, The Times constructed 3-D models of three patients’ lungs. The approach was inspired by a technique known as cinematic rendering, which is used by doctors to visualize organs, tissue and bones. Published in Monday’s newspaper, the renderings show the signs of limited lung function in Ms. Rodríguez, 32; Mr. Muñoz, 36; and Mr. Kennedy, 59, months after their infections. Andy Muñoz, 36, spent months in intensive care with Covid pneumonia.Meridith Kohut for The New York Times “Our job is to make things visible,” said Simone Landon, a deputy graphics editor who oversaw the project. “We knew people got really sick. We’d done a ton of reporting on the strain on hospitals and patients, and how painful and awful the disease could be. But we had not been able to show the actual damage to the body.” The project began last year when Noah Bassetti-Blum, then a Graphics editor at The Times (he left the company in January 2023), became familiar with cinematic rendering and wanted to apply the technique to a story dealing with Covid “sequelae,” or conditions that result from a previous disease or injury. The Graphics desk reached out to Pam Belluck, a health and science reporter whom Mr. Bassetti-Blum referred to as “the poet and the professional when it comes to working with patients with long-term health issues.” Ms. Belluck knew that the effects of Covid’s sequelae in the body were often frustratingly hard to see, so she suggested that the team focus on the lungs, as damage in the lungs is apparent to doctors in CT scans. But, to most people, a CT scan can feel abstract and nebulous. Cinematic renderings take those scans and make the extent of the damage painfully clear. Tom Kennedy, 59, hit golf balls with his wife, Gayle, and a friend in Houston in March.Meridith Kohut for The New York Times Ms. Belluck and the team decided that profiling a few patients and tracing their history with Covid would supplement the use of 3-D graphics. With the help of physicians at several hospitals, the team selected three patients who were hospitalized with Covid early in the pandemic and who consented to share their medical records. The patients’ lungs resembled scarred battlefields — tissue had retreated or had grown inflamed, and large cavities had opened up. But their lungs also showed signs of healing over time, appearing less shriveled and closer to normal size. The Times wanted to create two sets of models of the patients’ lungs: one from scans taken right after they were infected and a second from later scans that showed their lungs healing. Initially, the team planned to partner with an outside organization that could complete the cinematic rendering. But Jeremy White, a graphics editor, thought it could be done in-house. He used Maya, a software program, to create 3-D images from the patients’ CT scans. Marlene Rodríguez’s children love the trampoline, but she couldn’t bounce with them for long before her oxygen saturation dropped.Meridith Kohut for The New York Times In the past, 3-D representations of organs that appeared in Times articles had been based on generic stand-ins. Mr. White’s graphics are custom representations of the respiratory systems described in the article. “We’re visualizing medical data in a way we haven’t before,” he said. And while these 3-D models demonstrate a new capability in the newsroom, Ms. Belluck said they were enhanced by the experiences of the patients. She spent hours interviewing Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Muñoz, Ms. Rodríguez and their doctors. The Times assigned the photographer Meridith Kohut to visit the patients at home; her pictures show them at the dinner table and playing with their children while aided by oxygen tubes. Ms. Belluck said she hoped the article might help readers understand more about the long-term effects that can stem from Covid. “The human stories really reach people,” she said.