I stumbled upon Archimedes, a company offering the Archimedes Model, a "simulation of human physiology, diseases, behaviors, interventions, and healthcare systems." This is a very ambitious undertaking, and I find it really interesting.
The father of "evidence-based"? Even more interesting (to me, anyway) is the background of David Eddy, MD, PhD, one of the company's founders: "Starting more than 25 years ago David wrote seminal papers on mathematical modeling, guidelines, and evidence in medical decision making. He was the first to use and publish the term evidence-based and has pioneered the theory and applications of evidence-based guidelines."
What does Archimedes do? The model doesn't just consider medical evidence of the clinical-trial variety -- it attempts to factor in all sorts of evidence that can help people make good decisions. As explained by the company, the model "addresses the full range of variables and outcomes that are important in making healthcare decisions:
- Populations
- Clinical physiology, biomarkers, signs and symptoms, clinical outcomes
- Prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up care
- Physician and patient behaviors, performance, and compliance
- Protocols, guidelines, practice variations
- Delivery systems, logistics and utilization
- Quality of life
- Financial cost."
Science-wise, the technology employs "hundreds of equations that represent human physiology and the effects of diseases. Attached to these are hundreds more equations and algorithms that realistically simulate the healthcare system including processes such as tests, treatments, admissions and physician behaviors. Together with population data, the equations are integrated into a single, large-scale simulation model that accurately represents what happens to real people in real healthcare systems."
Archimedes just launched a new video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YoJlODCrOA
Posted by: Patrick van der Valk | Wednesday, 08 April 2009 at 03:36 AM