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Taking a BioPSE of Bioelectric Field Studies

© Adam Hughes

The area of bioelectric field phenomena is rich with studies that may have a direct impact on the health and well-being of humans in the coming years and decades. Some examples of focused research in this science include the examination of the ionic currents in and near the heart, studies of electrical patterns during an active brain seizure and research into the nature of cardiac defibrillation.

As in many other fields of endeavor, the recent advances in computing hardware and software development techniques have brought about great demand for more sophisticated simulation tools in this area. Recognizing this need, scientists at the National Institutes for Health (NIH) have undertaken the challenge through the development of a Problem Solving Environment, or PSE, for use in bioelectric field studies. The PSE, dubbed BioPSE, is a great example of integrated computing in a modern simulation setting.

A visit to the project web site--

http://www.sci.utah.edu/ncrr/research/re...

--will show that the NIH researchers have divided the problem into three pieces: modeling, simulation, and visualization. In this setting, modeling is described as a quantitative description of the physical features of a human body. In general, such modeling consists of a series of geometric shapes joined together to form a representation of a certain body part or area of the body. Simulation, on the other hand, gives a quantitative description of the function of body structures, utilizing the results of the modeling efforts. Of course, being conceptual creatures, humans have a hard time making heads or tails of piles of numbers, so visualization is an essential piece in order to be able to interpret the results of the modeling and simulation.

While this is the basic scheme seen in almost any simulation project, the goal of the NIH researchers is much loftier. They realized that the various parts of a computational study on bioelectric phenomena, as outlined above, are often carried out in independent, incremental chunks. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this approach, it invariably involves the use of a multitude of programs producing a multitude of data types (usually in some file format). This leads to many hours of data conversion on the part of the scientist. Obviously, most researchers would rather spend their time attacking the actual physical problem than wrangling with various file formats and other computer issues. Next week, we'll take a look at the unique design features of BioPSE that promise to free the bioelectric scientist to pursue his research ideals, relatively unfettered by tedious electronic ties.

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