Systems engineering medicine: engineering the inflammation response to infectious and traumatic challenges

Area of Science:

• * Systems Medicine and Translational Science
• * Focus on Acute Inflammation and Sepsis

Background:

• * Severe sepsis and trauma involve complex systemic inflammatory responses.
• * Current treatments lack breakthroughs, necessitating advanced tools.
• * Systems medicine provides the interface for developing these tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To highlight the potential of systems medicine in treating severe sepsis and trauma.
• * To introduce acute inflammation and sepsis as an underserved area within systems medicine.
• * To encourage contributions to this field.

Main Methods:

• * Utilizing phenomenological modeling and optimization for initial sepsis treatment improvements.
• * Employing physiologically based models for mechanistic understanding.
• * Characterizing population variability and applying control-theoretic systems engineering concepts.

Main Results:

• * Phenomenological modeling enables rapid strides in sepsis treatment and device design.
• * Mechanistic understanding leads to higher impact and generalizable treatment designs.
• * Systems engineering concepts enhance treatment strategy development.

Conclusions:

• * Systems medicine offers a powerful framework for addressing complex inflammatory conditions like sepsis.
• * Further contributions are needed to advance treatment strategies in this area.
• * Integrating systems biology principles with clinical applications is crucial for future breakthroughs.