隨著科學知識的精進，歐盟在FP7大型計畫下的虛擬人體生理資訊系統(Virtual Physiology Human, VPH)一系列計畫中，目標整合目前生物醫學工程領域及資訊科學領域，提供人類享受次世代醫學科技的便利性外，更藉此保有其在相關領域技術領先的優勢。本人曾參與VPH-DARE@IT計畫，並提供此計畫在大腦模擬部分的關鍵演算法。預計將此演算法之最終版(非歐盟計畫之初階版)帶回國，期待能替臺灣在這部分的相關技術，立即與歐洲平起平坐。本研究所使用的大腦多孔力學模型乃基於多孔彈性理論(Zienkiewicz提出探討土壤液化之版本)，參酌過去於腦神經科學領域之重要發現，如：膠質細胞間淋巴系統及水通道蛋白，在現有的大腦解剖生理條件知識下，建構出目前最靠近大腦環境的力學模型。本研究將專注於探討此模型於水腦症的病理機制，並根據該病理機制予以適當的邊界條件及初始條件。預計於第一及二年期將分別完成二維及三維有限元素法數值模型的自有程式碼，並利用水腦症中相對單純之阻塞性水腦作為探討應用，進而在第三年期利用前兩年發展之程式，探討較複雜亦較難在臨床上確診且好發於老年人口之常壓水腦症與失智症之關連性。 ;Incorporating advanced scientific knowledge and sophisticated engineering technology, there is a pioneer project (which is a European initiative) to investigate the human body as a single complex system (virtual physiology human, or VPH). The purpose of developing this project is that the EU not only wants to integrate biomedical engineering and information science, but also wants to retain the state-of-the-art in the relevant scientific areas which are of global importance. VPH-DARE@IT will deliver the first patient-specific predictive models for early differential diagnosis of dementias and their evolution. Regarding this VPH-DARE@IT project, the achievements include to deliver a systematic, multi-factorial and multi-scale modelling approach to understanding dementia and to explore the lifestyle and environmental factors that predispose individuals to the development of dementia. Meanwhile, the most meaningful performance is that this project provides to shorten the current average time-lapse between the onset of cognitive and memory deficits and its specific clinical diagnosis. Moreover, I was involved in the VPH-DARE @ IT project in the UK and provided the key algorithm for this project for the cerebral simulation. The current version of the algorithm that I plan to execute in this proposal will be more advanced than the version that I’ve already contributed to the aforementioned project. I am looking forward to making this currently EU-led initiative available in Taiwan as soon as possible. In this study, the cerebral poromechanics model that we plan to utilise originates from Biot poroelasticity theory (Zienkiewicz proposed a version for research purpose in soil liquefaction). Two important recent landmarks in neuroscience; the glymphatic system and its functional dependence on aquaporins will be harnessed. It will be the most sophisticated and up-to-date model available, as it is very close to mimic the cerebral environment (and can naturally incorporate traditional rodent/human experimentally extracted parameters). In exploring the pathophysiology of various neurodegenerative disorders that fall within the spectrum of dementia (such as normal pressure hydrocephalus), the boundary conditions and initial conditions will be provided in order to close the governing equations. We will utilise this model to explore specific pathologies allied to hydrocephalus, via our in-house code (2D and 3D finite element based discretization of the governing equations).
