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The making of the virtual heart 149

• In silico models will aid both the standardisation and individualisation
of medical care. Standardisation of diagnoses, drug and device descrip-
tions, procedures, etc. will make relevant information more readily and
more widely available. On the other hand, advanced models will allow
development of patient-specific procedures for diagnosis and treat-
ment. This will move the focus from the treatment of diseases to the
curing of patients.
• All the above effects will ultimately lead to reduction in morbidity and
mortality and an improvement in the quality of life.
On this optimistic note we shall finish.

8.6 Further reading

Bassingthwaighte, J. B., Li, Z. & Qian, H. 1998 Blood flows and metabolic
components of the cardiome. Prog. Biophys. Molec. Biol. 69, 445–461.
Bock, G. R. & Goode, J. A. (eds.) 1998 The limits of reductionism in modern
biology. Novartis Foundation Symposium. Chichester: John Wiley &
Sons.
Kohl, P., Noble, D., Winslow, R. L. & Hunter, P. J. 2000 Computational
modelling of biological systems: tools and visions. Phil. Trans. R. Soc.
Lond. A 358, 579–610.