The Role of Simulation in the Future of Medicine

Simulation has revolutionized product design and manufacturing across many industries including automotive, aerospace, and oil and gas exploration. The ability to develop new products and test different processes in a virtual environment allows us to first explore what could be without wasting precious investments of time and money on ideas that may not succeed in the real world.

Simulation in the health and life sciences field seems a natural fit as today’s researchers strive to develop effective devices, drugs, and procedures for treating an ever-growing number of diseases. In response to this challenge, Dassault Systèmes’ Living Heart Project (LHP) created the first-of-its-kind 3D realistic simulation of a human heart. This virtual model behaves and responds just like the real thing and even accounts for the complex fluid, electrical, and mechanical properties of the body’s most vital organ.

There’s no question that simulation and modeling capabilities will play a key role in transforming the treatment of cardiovascular disease – one of the world’s most prolific killers – however, they also provide a glimpse into a future of medicine that is highly personalized yet less invasive.

As simulation technologies develop they will drive a paradigm shift that will make healthcare as personalized and tailored to our individual preferences as the apps on our phones. In the future, patients may be able to use their smartphones to send real-time health data directly to their electronic medical record (EMR), which doctors could access anytime, anywhere via the cloud and use it to build individualized treatment plans.

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