A vision and strategy for the virtual physiological human in 2010 and beyond

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Computational Biology
• Health Informatics

Background:

• European Framework 7 (FP7) funding supports the Virtual Physiological Human (VPH) project.
• The VPH Network of Excellence (NoE) facilitates common standards, open-source software, and data repositories.
• Coordination of clinically targeted projects under FP7 calls is a key function of the VPH NoE.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the accomplishments of the VPH project over its initial two years.
• To update the VPH vision, initially defined by the Framework 6 Strategy for a European Physiome (STEP) project in 2006.
• To address biomedical science, healthcare, and ICT challenges within the VPH initiative.

Main Methods:

• Review of VPH project activities and outputs from the first two years.
• Analysis of challenges in biomedical science, healthcare, and information and communications technology.
• Proposal for the VPH Institute to ensure long-term project sustainability.

Main Results:

• Significant progress in developing common standards, open-source software, and data repositories.
• Effective coordination of FP7-funded clinical projects.
• Identification of key challenges and a proposed solution for future VPH development.

Conclusions:

• The VPH project has made substantial progress in establishing foundational elements for a virtual human model.
• The VPH Institute is proposed as a sustainable structure to guide the VPH vision beyond the current Network of Excellence funding.
• Continued collaboration across biomedical science, healthcare, and ICT is crucial for advancing the VPH initiative.