The 2nd Biosupercomputing Symposium
News
Up one levelThis folder contains al public news VPHOP project-related
Computer models predict the risk of fracture in clinics, but research is already a step ahead
The University of Sheffield registered a clinical trial
The skeleton of the European Virtual Human is “made in Italy”
Sept 1st, 2008: the VPHOP integrated project officially started
The Virtual Physiological Human: Building a Framework for Computational Biomedicine
Two themed issues on The Virtual Physiological Human were recently published
“The future of MAF”: the day after
On October 10th, in Bologna, a meeting day entitled “The future of MAF” was held, focused on the Multimod Application Framework (MAF), an Open Source software which enables the rapid development of the applications for the so called “computer aided medicine”.
Knee Arthroplasty: From Early Intervention to Revision - An IMechE conference
Call for Papers!
@neurIST Open Symposium
All FP6 and FP7 VPH community projects were invited
VPHOP Presented at TCN CAE 2008
The TCN CAE 2008 International Conference on Simulation Based Engineering and Sciences was held in Venice on 16-17 October 2008. This year an entire parallel session was dedicated to biomedical applications, and Marco Viceconti, coordinator of the VPHOP project, was selected as keynote speaker for that session.
VPHOP at Europe for Patients
Marco Viceconti, coordinator of the VPHOP integrated project, gave an invited talk at the “Europe for patients” conference, organised at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. Dr. Viceconti described the prospective that VPHOP research and technological develop is likely to open for patients affected by osteoporosis.
ICCB2009: Final call for Papers!
All aspects of computational bioengineering
Osteoporosis in the European Union in 2008
Ten years of progress and ongoing challenges. A decade after the landmark 1998 report and recommendations by the European Commission and as a comparison to the 2001 EU 'audit' report, this work, published in October 2008, provides a snapshot of the progress and challenges in osteoporosis management in the EU.
Stand Tall - Speak out for your bones
The two-year World Osteoporosis Day campaign aims at encouraging the global osteoporosis movement to mobilize public opinion to generate change in osteoporosis healthcare policies.
European prize awarded for 3D patient modeling
Professor Nicholas Ayache, a scientific pioneer in computational medical image analysis, was awarded one of the largest international prizes in science
IUPS nominates its next President
2009-2013: Professor Denis Noble, President of the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS)
VPH Concertation Day Report - Published
Now available the report of the Concertation Meeting which gave the representatives from EC-projects - funded within the Seventh Framework (FP7) VPH Initiative, and VPH-related projects funded during Framework Six (FP6) - the first opportunity to gather and discuss about future multidisciplinary collaboration between the ICT and life sciences research communities.
VPHOP participate to the VPH Concertation Meeting
Representatives of the 15 research projects funded in the second call of FP7 under the topic “Virtual Physiological Human” met in Brussels on 22nd October 2008 in the so-called VPH Concertation Meeting. The meeting proposed by the e-health unit of the DG INFSO, which is in charge of the VPH projects, was intended as an opportunity for exchanging perspectives, agree on common goals, and identify possible collective actions. The workgroups conclusions suggest that a significant coordination work is required.
VPHOP at the ICT-BIO 2008 conference
As part of the ICT-BIO 2008 conference, the VPHOP consortium organised a session on the musculoskeletal system that showcased the state of the art in integrative biomedical research worldwide with respect to this important part of human pathophysiology. Speakers from Europe, Japan and United States presented very exciting developments such as the use of the Petaflop Japanese supercomputer, capable of 1000 billion operation every second, to simulate the human skeleton at an unsurpassed level of detail, or the prediction of neuromuscular control the astronauts will use while walking on Mars.
New FP7 calls on the Virtual Physiological Human presented at ICT2008
After the great attention drawn in Helsinki on 2006, the Virtual Physiological Human (VPH) initiative kept a central place also at ICT2008, the biannual event that showcase the most important research activities supported under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) programme of the Seventh Framework Program of the European Commission. The event gave the opportunity to the eHealth unit to present two new calls for proposals related to the VPH.
Building the Virtual Physiological Human Community
July 26th, 2009.The VPH Network of Excellence will host a Satellite Symposium at the XXXVI International Congress of Physiological Sciences in conjunction with Akinori Noma’s team at Ritsumeikan University.
Osteopenia vs Fall: the debate sparkles, confirming the VPH vision on osteoporosis research.
Letter on BMJ stresses the need of shifting the focus in fracture prevention from osteoporosis to falls, confirming the validity of the research and technological development objectives set for the VPHOP European research project.
VPHOP is presented at the VPH Industry day
The European Bioinformatics Institute, on behalf of the VPH Network of Excellence organised a two days meeting in Cambridge (UK) to present to the European industrial researchers the VPH initiative and its early results.
Stroetmann joins Healthcare IT Management
VPHOP consortium congratules with Karl Stroetmann, one of its principal investigators, for becoming member of Healthcare It Management's Editorial Board
Peter Hunter wins the New Zeeland Awards
Among New Zeeland's best talents, Peter Hunter receives a World Class New Zeeland Award in the category: Research, Science, Technology & Academia.
New evidence confirms osteoporosis is a rising healthcare risk
New evidence from the USA confirms osteoporosis is a major health treat causing millions of fractures each year with profound impact on quality of life and the economy, and calls for rapid advancement of innovative medical research
Bilateral fatigue fracture at 61 years old: a case report
A paper recently published on Orthopaedics by a group of clinicians at the University of Yamanashi reports the case of a 61 years old lady with a bilateral non-displaced fatigue fracture of the femoral neck.
No association between hip geometry and genes
A paper recently published on Calcified International by a group of researchers at the University of Southern Denmark shows that the geometric dimensions of the proximal femur in perimenopausal women are not associated with four polymorphisms in genes known to correlate with increased fracture incidence and/or reduced bone mineral density (BMD). The genetic contribution to the risk of osteoporosis does not seem to be mediated by the anatomic risk factors.
Principal Investigators Forum (VPHOP members only)
A Principal Investigators forum has been created to implement the communication between the PMO and the 19 partners of the VPHOP Consortium
Biannual Updates of the VPHOP Project Directory (VPHOP members only)
Principal Investigators will give their contribution to keep the Project Directory up to date.
ANSYS gets press coverage thanks to the VPHOP project
Ansys, the global innovator of simulation software and technologies, offers its contribute to the osteopororis fight generating interest on the press
VPHOP at the Infinity Initiative BioICT - The Heart in the Computer in Sophia Antipolis
Member of the VPHOP consortium Karl A. Stroetmann gave an invited expert presentation on the vision and clinical potentials of VPH during a series of advanced seminars about ‘Bio ICT-The Heart in the Computer’, organised at ETSI in Sophia Antipolis, France. Delegates included leading scientists and important industry leaders, EC decision-makers and major players in the field.
Download "Virtual Physiological Human Projects Portfolio"
On the eHealthNews website is now available the PDF version of a resource book with an overview of the set of Virtual Physiological Human (VPH)
European Commission proposes a new strategy for Europe’s global leadership in ICT
In a new strategy for ICT research and development, the European Commission (EC) underlines that industrial and technological leadership can be accelerated through supporting European-scale projects, such as R&D for innovative solutions for healthcare.
European Commission quotes Virtual Physiological Human a flagship research initiative for boosting Europe’s technological competitiveness
A new European plan promoting visionary research was unveiled by the European Commission to identify and launch new Future and Emerging Technology (FET) research flagship initiatives. According to the plan, initiatives like the Virtual Physiological Human exhibit the potential to address today’s socio-economic challenges and gain technologically competitive advantages for Europe.
The Project Board approves the Gantt Chart implemented by the Project Manager (VPHOP members only)
The final version of the Gantt chart is now available for the Consortium Partners to view. The Gantt Chart has been implemented by the Project Manager and formally approved during the last Project Board held in Munich in date 10/03/2009.
VPHOP adopts Extreme Project Management
The innovative project management model XPM is now fully operational to support the VPHOP classical project management.
VPHOP Coordinator leads EU scientific delegation at V-Tissues 2009 conference
The VPHOP Coordinator, Marco Viceconti co-chaired the Virtual Tissues 2009 conference, organised by the US Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the European Commission.
VPH in the context of Future and Emerging Technologies
VPHOP experts present The Virtual Physiological Human to the FET team
VPHOP showcased at Philips Research
The coordinator of the VPHOP project was invited in Aachen (DE) to give a presentation on multiscale modelling of the skeletal system to the staff of Philips Research. The conference was broadcasted to all Philips research sites around the world. The visit was also an opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas with colleagues and to learn more about VPHOP twin project Eu-Heart, which is applying the very same approach to cardiac pathologies.
VPHOP presented at R&D division of ESAOTE
VPHOP coordinator gave an invited talk to the R&D staff of ESAOTE entitled: “Toward a personalised, predictive, and integrative medicine: the VPHOP project”. The presentation was organised at the company headquarters in Genova (IT), and gave the opportunity to ESAOTE researchers to discuss with Dr. Viceconti the new opportunities that integrative research and multiscale modelling can provide to medical imaging technologies.
VPHOP presented at the Italian Institute of Technology
Marco Viceconti gave an invited lecture entitled “The Virtual Physiological Human: current status and perspectives” at the IIT. The seminar was organised by Giulio Sandini, Research Director of the Robotics, Brain & Cognitive Sciences area, by Darwin Caldwell, Research Director of the Advanced Robotics area, and by Pietro Morasso, Professor at the University of Genova, and Senior Researcher at the IIT.
Le LHDL est mort, vive le LHDL: VPHOP goes on PhysiomeSpace
The Living Human Digital Library, a FP6 project which aimed to develop a data-sharing infrastructure for integrative research, received during its final review meeting an “outstanding” evaluation by a panel of international experts, and was selected by the “ICT for Health” unit as “Project of Month”. The main project output, the PhysiomeSpace© data management & sharing service, will be used by the VPHOP project as infrastructure for secure data sharing between the four clinical centres, and the other 15 research institutions involved with the project.
Nicotine pathway on osteoblasts metabolism discovered
Israeli researchers founds that nicotine regulates the expression of various proteins linked to the proliferation and activity of osteblasts. This study provides a mechanistic basis to a number of phenomenological observations on the role of smoking as a major risk factor in bone diseases.
VPHOP completes a clinical study protocol for technology assessment
The technology leaders of VPHOP reached a key consensus with the project’s clinical partners about how to further develop and assess their simulation technologies. In a complex task consolidating the diverse research interests and resources of four large hospitals (Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Switzerland; Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany; Istituti Ortopedici Rizzoli, Italy; and Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, France), a major milestone was accomplished by passing a central study protocol. The protocol defines how the clinical partners of the VPHOP consortium will collect and share clinical data that is necessary to perform the technology as well as the later socio-economic impact assessment
Automatic homepage for every BiomedTown citizen
A personal citizen homepage will now be available to improve the communication and the exchange of information among the BiomedTown population.
Empirica presents study results on global uptake of health ICT at OECD meeting
An OECD expert meeting was organised on May 25 on measuring the progress of global eHealth diffusion. VPHOP partner empirica presented results from two EC funded studies: eHealth Indicators - on the use of ICT by GPs in Europe and eHealth Benchmarking - a comprehensive inventory of available statistical evidence on eHealth in Europe, Canada and the USA. In many European countries, data showed that general practitioners extensively use ICT in their daily practice, and they are ready for using ever more advanced technologies.
VPHOP project presented at the IV Bone Quality Seminar 2009
VPHOP coordinator was invited by the pharmaceutical company Servier to present the VPHOP project and its innovative multiscale personalized model for risk fracture prediction.
VPHOP presented at RIKEN Tokyo
RIKEN is one of the largest research organisations in Japan; its mission is to conduct comprehensive research in science and technology. One of the key targets of RIKEN is the development of multiscale models of human pathophysiology, also in relation to the development of the next-generation 10 petaflops Japanese supercomputer, for which RIKEN is responsible for the development, construction, and operation of the supercomputer, expected to be operational in 2012. In this context the mutual interest between RIKEN and VPHOP, the large European project on the multiscale modelling of the musculoskeletal system, comes quite natural. The visit of VPHOP Coordinator gave the opportunity to present latest results and future plans of the VPHOP project, and to learn more on the research activities being conducted at RIKEN in the area of virtual human.
VPHOP gets larger clinical support
Three illustrious clinicians have accepted to join the VPHOP clinical committee as external experts. The collaboration will offer to the European funded project the possibility to develop a technology which best suits the real needs of the clinical users.
VPHOP contributes to VPH NoE outreach event
The VPH NoE Network of Excellence organised in connection with the world congress of the International Union of Physiological Societies (IUPS) conference, a satellite symposium entitled “Building the Virtual Physiological Human Community. As part of the outreach initiatives of the European VPH action, the event saw the contribution, amongst others, from Marco ViceConti, coordinator of the VPHOP project, who co-chaired a round table on the pros and cons of public access to biomedical data and models.
The VPHOP consortium announces the results of the first project year
After only one year, the European investments for the fight against osteoporosis have already started to show their positive results. The VPHOP research project which successfully gained funding in 2008, celebrated a year of life and its remarkable achievements during the first Annual Assembly in Bertinoro -Italy- on the 15th of September 2009.
CTK pro tempore board established
Following a first preparatory meeting in Heidelberg (DE), a group of researchers representing some of the most advanced open source initiatives in the area of medical imaging and modelling met in Oxford (UK) on 25th September 2009 to join forces in a new open source project called “Common Tool Kit” that could rapidly become the most important software resource worldwide in the domain of biomedical visualisation and computing.
VPHOP presented at Bioengineering ’09.
The second conference and exhibition of the Society of Bioengineering (Bioengineering ’09), held on September 24th-25th 2009 in Oxford-Keble College, saw as invited keynote speaker Marco Viceconti, Coordinator of the VPHOP integrated project. Dr. Viceconti presented the current state of the art in multiscale modelling of the musculoskeletal system, including some recent results produced by the VPHOP consortium.
VPH represented at the first Consultation meeting on eHealth ELSA
With the communication COM(2009)116 of 13 March 2009 "A Strategy for ICT R&D and Innovation in Europe: Raising the Game", the European Commission started a consultation process that could lead by 2014 to the launch of a European Large Scale Action (ELSA) on Electronic Health (eHealth). A number of key figures in the VPH community were invited to attend the first formal consultation meeting on 29 September 2009 in Brussels.
VPH at MICCAI2009
As part of the important conference MICCAI2009, held in London on September 2009, Gábor Székely (ETH Zurich) organised a one-day tutorial on physiological modelling. The event, which saw the participation as invited speakers of various members of the VPH NoE, was well attended and well received by the participants.
First VPHOP annual meeting
The VPHOP international consortium, which aims to develop the next-generation technology for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment planning of osteoporotic fractures, has just gathered in occasion of first project general assembly in Bertinoro (Italy).
Innovative VPHOP technology assessment method presented at the ICCB in Bertinoro-Italy
Member of the VPHOP consortium, Rainer Thiel, presented the VPHOP technology assessment model during the IV International Conference on Computational Bioengineering (ICCB2009), Bertinoro in date September 16-18, 2009. VPHOP not only validates its technologies technically, but also assesses patient-based and societal socio-economic benefits, costs, and risks.
Kaiser Permanente’s meaningful use of its EHR
As the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT continues to hone its definition of meaningful use for health IT, it should take note of the results of Kaiser Permanente’s osteoporosis prevention program.
"... a good beginning makes a good ending!": VPHOP successfully passed its first annual review
On November 10th, 2009 the VPHOP project had its first year of activity reviewed by the European commission. The comments of the panel of international experts that reviewed the project activity were really positive and gratifying, underlining the excellent progress made so far by the consortium.
FP7-ICT-2009-6 has been released!
Call 6 for Information and Communication Technologies has just been launched.
Sign the petition for the VPH Institute
It is time to give the VPH community a collective identity that is persistent and that can speak with one voice when necessary. We invite you to sign the public petition for the creation of a European "Virtual Physiological Human (VPH) Institute".
QResearch produces new fracture risk score
A simple new score which can predict the risk of patients suffering fractured bones due to osteoporosis has been developed using the QResearch database. The algorithm, QFractureScores, can be used by clinicians and patients and calculates an individual's percentage risk of an osteoporotic fracture over the next ten years, allowing early intervention to take place.
ICCB2009: download the proceedings on-line
The book of abstract of the IV International Congress on Computational Bioengineering has been published on-line and is now available to be downloaded.
VPH Institute: sign the support petition
The creation of the VPH Insitute is now in process. Give your support to this initiative.
NICE established a new programme to evaluate medical technologies
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is launching a new programme focusing specifically on the evaluation of innovative medical technologies (including devices and diagnostics). This new programme will both compliment and operate in conjunction with NICE’s existing technology appraisal capacity, which will continue to evaluate new pharmaceutical and biotechnology products.
Model Reproducibility for Physiome Research and the VPH Institute
If you are involved in VPH research we need your help and support! Please look at the following news items which are petitions based on a Model Reproducibility statement and the creation of the VPH institute.
International Summer School on Biomedical Imaging
9th IEEE EMBS (International summer school on biomedical imaging) Berder Island, France, 18-26 June, 2010
VPH Presented at the medical simulation community
The SSH/ISBMS 2010 meeting in Phoenix, AZ, included a keynote plenary presentation dedicated to the Virtual Physiological Human. The talk, given by Marco Viceconti, Outreach Program responsible for the VPH Network of Excellence, presented the scope, vision, and the current development of the VPH initiative. This presentation targets one of the research communities, that of simulation in healthcare, which is considered neighbourhood domain for the VPH initiative. The high interest the presentation received confirmed that simulation in healthcare training, planning, and provision is a natural target application for VPH technologies.
Military asked to resume 3D human body mapping technology
A medical advisor to the U.S. military is urging the government to support the development of modeling technologies in order to create advanced computer simulations of the human body.
ICT 2010: Call for Exhibit Proposals
The ICT 2010 Exhibition will cover, in over 5000 square meters, Europe's latest cutting edge ICT research results. The aim of the exhibition is to showcase the latest work and concrete results in upstream ICT as well as close-to-market projects.
OpenSim 2.0 has just been released
The OpenSim software is now freely available to the biomechanics research community and enables computer modeling and simulation of human and animal movement.
'Virtual cell' could bring benefits of simulation to biology
Markus Covert is close to completing a computer model of the microbe Mycoplasma genitalia, a sexually-trasnmitted parasite. The bug is ideal for virtual re-creation because of its simplicity: only 521 coding regions.
Declaration to simplify European Research Funding
Do you agree that the administrative burden and the financial regulation of European research funding should be simplified? Sign this declaration and invite others to join!
First VPH Conference from 30th September to 1st October 2010: call for papers
The Virtual Physiological Human Network of Excellence (VPH NoE) will hold the first of a series of VPH Conferences (VPH2010) on 30th September to 1st October, 2010. The first meeting will be held in Brussels, Belgium, and is supported by the European Commission ICT for Health / DG Information Society and Media
VPHOP gets international: NMS Physiome kicks-off
Neuro-Musculo-Skeletal Physiome, or NMS Physiome for short, officially started on January 27th, 2010. This is a VPH Internationalisation cooperation project between the European integrated project VPHOP, and the United States NIH Center for physics-based Simulation of Biological Structures, SIMBIOS.