Computer simulation offers an effective and engaging complement to traditional methods of instruction. We propose to develop a simulation, designed for medical education, whose intellectual content derives from mathematical models the cardiopulmonary system. This system will build forward from our existing simulation, SimBioSys, and extend it to be internet capable in several ways. First, it will run either locally (both interface and simulations on the same machine) or in a client-server mode (an interface client on the user's machine and a mathematically capable server connected via the Internet). Second, it will use the Internet to provide rapid updating of content: cases, new medical and scientific information, and graphics. Third, it will provide a mechanism for tracking student progress to assist teachers and provide certification of curricular completion. In addition to these architectural capabilities, it will add important new simulation capabilities, including dynamical models of regional circulation, models of the control of breathing, models of cellular contraction coupling, visualization of display of cardiac geometry, and fast forward calculation of results. This will bring the quality of medical simulation to a new level, advancing the state of the art of both education and simulation.
This development will permit the applicant organization to develop a computer program that will be useful for trainees in medicine and several allied health professions.
