The latest advancement currently taking the world of medicine by storm is the growing field of Computational Medicine which uses the latest digital software to better understand disease. Last month Science Translational Medicine published an article titled, "Computational Medicine: Translating Models to Clinical Care," written by four Johns Hopkins professors affiliated with the university's Institute for Computational Medicine. According to institute director Raimond Winslow "the field has exploded!"
Science Daily describes computational medicine as a field that is helping doctors understand the complexitites of illnesses such as heart disease, Alzheimers, cancers, etc. by analyzing disease mechanisms mathematically within computer software. The result of this analysis makes it easier to predict who is more at risk of developing these diseases and even offers insight into how to avoid or treat the condition. In an article by the Indo Asian News Service (IANS) featured on Yahoo News! earlier this month "these digital tools are enabling researchers to build on experimental and clinical data that can unravel complex medical mysteries."
Science Daily quotes Winslow further stating in a John Hopkins statement that
"Biology in both health and disease is very complex; It involves the feed-forward flow of information from the level of the gene to protein, networks, cells, organs and organ systems... It also involves feed-back pathways by which, for example, proteins, mechanical forces at the level of tissues and organs, and environmental factors regulate function at lower levels such as the gene. Computational models help us to understand these complex interactions, the nature of which is often highly complex and non-intuitive. Models like these allow researchers to understand disease mechanisms, aid in diagnosis, and test the effectiveness of different therapies. By using computer models, potential therapies can be tested "in silico" at high speed. The results can then be used to guide further experiments to gather new data to refine the models until they are highly predictive."
What does Computational Medicine look like at play? An example is the creation of algorithms that mirror the networks of molecules linked to cancer which has helped researchers understand the disease better, using the results to predict which patients are most at risk. Another example is anatomical simulation to detect change within the human brain such as shape changes that may be attributed to Alzheimer's disease or schizophrenia, neuropsychiatric disorder.
The following video shows this computational medicine in the form of digital anatomic models to show the electrical activity in the heart, which helps doctors prevent sudden cardiac death as well as diagnose and treat those at risk for it.
Computational models are very much allowing doctors to get a clearer picture and image of disease within anatomic simulations as well as giving them ways to test treatments. Katherine Harmon of Scientific American states that "These models, however, also need to be checked frequently against real-world data and adjusted accordingly. But researchers who are armed to deal with this once unusual cross-discipline endeavor are growing more common." Currently more and more people are being trained in not only mathematics, computer science and engineering, but also in biology which will allow them to bring a "whole new perspective to medical diagnosis and treatment" according to Winslow.
Although this field is still growing, it has showed much promise for doctors to make some breakthrough discoveries about various complex diseases. There continue to be a number of obstacles to surpass before computational science and medicine becomes routine among doctors and hospitals, however it is definitely in the forseeable future. Just look at the new iPad application, NeuroResponse that uses computational anatomy to guide doctors through the delivery of deep brain stimulation to patients with Parkinson's disease.