The Virtual Eye: An Integrative Multiscale Framework for Mechanistic Modelling of Ocular Physiology and Disease

The Virtual Eye initiative described here seeks to build a versatile and integrative in silico platform, 'The Virtual Eye' that can capture and simulate the biology, physiology and function of the human eye, from molecular interactions to organ-level behaviour, in both healthy and diseased states. This effort has the potential to substantially deepen our understanding of the visual process, clarify the mechanistic basis of ocular diseases across multiple spatial and temporal scales, and support the development of therapeutic strategies for both common and rare eye conditions. A coordinated undertaking among biologists, biophysicists, clinicians, mathematicians and engineers has led to the development of a shared roadmap and collaborative investigations into foundational challenges, including for instance retinal vascular flow and the progression of geographic atrophy lesions in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Here, we present an initial framework for advancing the Virtual Eye and define core models required to ensure its coherent development and expansion. This framework is rooted in current knowledge of biological mechanisms and integrated with mathematical representation, with the initial ambition of simulating a defined period of healthy function using a range of stimuli and experiments representing the natural world. We identify nine core modelling tasks that capture the healthy physiology of the eye and outline seven disease processes representing perturbations of normal function. Together, these components could form the first iteration of the Virtual Eye conceptual framework and roadmap for building it, enabling controlled experimental manipulation of a simulated system designed to generate realistic and biologically meaningful behaviours.