Perhaps someday organs will be mapped using computer models, much like the weather is today. Using a computerized "digital twin" of a heart, researchers will be able to make predictions about the effect of pacemakers on an individual. "Over time, [my medical] record could be a digital twin of me," said Steve Levine, the chief strategy officer for French software company Dassault Systèmes Simulia division. The potential applications to personalized medicine are profound, because taken to its extreme, the idea could be used to research differences between individuals' organs. It sounds out there. But Dassault has already launched the Living Heart, which turns a 2-D scan of the heart into an individualized 3-D model. Each 'twin' heart consists of 208,561 digital tetrahedrons. Each one has its own biological properties. Digital twins have long been used to model bridges and cars. Why not the human body? More
@FierceMedDev: ICYMI yesterday: BTG, Philips roll out first cancer embolic bead visible via real-time imaging. Article | Follow @FierceMedDev
@EmilyWFierce: Hikma slashes $535M from offer price for Boehringer's U.S. generics biz. FiercePharma story | Follow @EmilyWFierce
> The FDA has cleared an ICU-quality vital sign monitor from Royal Philips ($PHG) that works while patients are undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs). More
> The FDA has cleared Becton Dickinson's ($BDX) portable FACSPresto system and accompanying cartridge to monitor absolute and percentage results of CD4 T lymphocytes and hemoglobin concentration in whole blood samples to manage HIV/AIDS patients. More
> Researchers at Vanderbilt University are pursuing the making of full-sized artificial organs via technology based on the principals behind a cotton-candy making machine. More
> Four women have withdrawn legal cases against Bayer related to its Essure contraceptive device after a federal judge ruled that one of the plaintiffs' California state claims are preempted by federal law. Story
Biotech News
@FierceBiotech: Oxford team fingers an inflammatory protein as a trigger for cancer. FierceBiotechResearch story | Follow @FierceBiotech
@JohnCFierce: AbbVie taps Synlogic to take a microbiomic approach to IBD. News | Follow @JohnCFierce
@DamianFierce: oh to be a fly on the wall as WSJ editors discussed how best to word this paragraph. More/Article (sub. req.) | Follow @DamianFierce
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Pharma News
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> Novartis defies naysayers with newfangled pay-for-performance deals on Entresto. Story
> Hikma slashes $535M from offer price for Boehringer's U.S. generics biz. Article
Pharma Marketing News
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> PhRMA hopes to polish pharma's tarnished rep with patient-focused ad campaign. Article
Biotech Research News
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> NIH researchers find genomic signature common in 5 types of cancer. Article
Vaccines News
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