In Silico Medicine

What Is In Silico Medicine?

In silico medicine is the use of computational models and simulations to develop medical devices and pharmaceuticals. These simulation models aim to replicate the anatomy, physiology, and biological processes of the human body. Therefore, you can use in silico medicine to validate designs and clinically evaluate new medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

You can leverage in silico medicine in the research and development of new medical devices and pharmaceuticals with MATLAB® and Simulink®. For medical devices, Simscape™ allows you to create functional physiological models of human organs such as lungs, kidneys, the cardiovascular system, and heart. You can use these models to design and validate medical devices including ventilators, dialysis machines, insulin pumps, infusion pumps, and pacemakers. For pharmaceuticals, SimBiology® enables you to create virtual patient cohorts to develop and test new drug candidates.

In silico medicine simulation model of a medical ventilator with a patient in Simscape.

Simulation model of a medical ventilator with a patient in Simscape.

Overall, in silico medicine allows manufacturers to shorten the product development cycle for new medical devices and pharmaceuticals without compromising quality or safety.

Key points:

  • In silico medicine uses computational models and simulations to replicate human anatomy, physiology, and biological processes
  • The virtual human models can be used in the design and testing of new medical devices and pharmaceuticals
  • Manufacturers using in silico medicine benefit from accelerated research and development cycles while ensuring the quality and safety of their products

To learn more about using computational modelling and simulation for medical device and pharmaceutical development, see MATLAB and Simulink for Medical Devices and MATLAB and Simulink for Biotech and Pharmaceutical.

See also: developing iec 62304–compliant embedded software for medical devices