Abstract:
The Physiome Project is an international collaboration to provide
a framework for understanding human physiology, from proteins
and cells to tissues and organs, with multiscale models that
use computational techniques derived from engineering and software
approaches from computer science. With the increasing interest
in modeling living systems from research scientists in many
branches of mathematics, physics, and engineering, it is timely to
review what has been achieved, what lessons can be learned from
the efforts so far, and what needs to be done to facilitate the international
collaboration that is essential to the project’s success. In
particular, we review the development of models at spatial scales
from genes and proteins to the whole body, and the development of
standards, tools, and databases to facilitate multiscale modeling.
Some applications of the physiome models are described, including
applications in medical diagnostics, the design of medical devices,
virtual surgery, surgical training, and medical education.