Theme3 Five-Year Goals

We will develop basic software for an integrated simulator that is applicable to a wide variety of diseases, by connecting the musculoskeletal-system simulator and the cardiovascular-system simulator via the nervous-system simulator. Within the scope of this research theme, in the area of the heart, we will conduct simulations of various diseases or conditions, such as angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, cardiac dysfunction due to microangiopathy, and effects of stress or stimulation, to examine therapeutic methods and evaluate drug efficacy.
We will also conduct research in the field of motor dysfunction.Typically, the application of a nervous-system model to diseases such as Parkinson’s disease is difficult. Therefore, in the case of such conditions, in order to elucidate the mechanism and examine therapeutic methods, we will conduct whole-body integrated simulations involving the nervous system, which take into consideration the effects of substance transport and signal transduction at the neural cell level. There are cases, for example, in which symptomatic treatments based on qualitative thinking have been used, such as the addition of dopamine when it is lacking, or the inhibition of overactivity by electric shock when it occurs. In these cases, based on the symptoms and the data obtained from motor tests of individual patients, we will estimate the degree of degenerative progression of individual elements in the nervous circuits, as multidimensional parameters. Based on the results, we will then generate the optimal prescription, such as a combination of drug administration and electric shock.
Furthermore, the simulator to be developed will allow us to analyze a wide range of phenomena, including changes in posture, predictions of injury due to falls, and differences between fatigue of the muscles and that of the brain. Thus, for example, new information on infrastructure for preventing falls will be obtained, by clarifying the mechanism of falls in the elderly, which in turn will contribute to new developments in the field of gerontology.
We will integrate the various biological simulators (thrombosis, cardiac, musculoskeletal, neurological systems, etc.) which have been developed independently, to more faithfully reproduce the conditions of complex processes, in order to simulate disease states such as myocardial infarction and Parkinson’s disease. To this end, we will develop basic tools and make full use of the K computer and HPCI to predict pathology and support medical treatment.