Posted: 13th September 2011

A new film profiling the work of the Virtual Physiological Human Network of Excellence, features Oxford’s contribution, the preDiCT project.

The Virtual Physiological Human Network of Excellence  - or VPH NoE for short - is a project which supports European research in biomedical modelling and simulation of the human body.  Thereby improving our ability to predict, diagnose and treat disease, and having a dramatic impact on the future of healthcare, the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.

Researchers at Oxford are working on preDiCT: “computational prediction of drug cardiotoxicity”. About 40% prospective new drugs fail to get to market because of their adverse effect on the rhythm of the heart.  This project is addressing this problem developing the computational infrastructure necessary for ‘in silico’ (performed on computer or via computer simulation) simulation, and ultimately accurate prediction, of the impact of drug candidates on cardiac electrophysiology.

The film, which explores preDiCT, and other projects that make up the Virtual Physiological Human Network of Excellence can be viewed on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM76-mS84Xs