Medicine and the virtual physiological human

The Virtual Physiological Human (VPH) is a European initiative that focuses on a methodological and technological framework that enables collaborative investigation of the human body as a single complex system. This collective framework will make possible to share resources and observations formed by institutions and organizations, creating disparate but integrated computer models of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of a living human body. The VPH initiative has constituted the base for integrating heterogeneous data sources into mechanistic computer models of most anatomical systems. This chapter focuses on VPH-related models of the human musculoskeletal system in orthopedics with a view toward personalized, predictive, and preventative medicine. We present the integration of technologies combining heterogeneous data sources, experimental, and numerical methods focusing on the anabolic effect of physical activity as a means for reducing the risk of hip fracture and for determining anatomical, physiological, and surgery factors in short- and long-term stability of total hip replacements.SCOPUS: ch.b