Supercomputer Created 3D Heart May Change Future Drug Testing

Barcelona’s Supercomputing Center made a big splash in the science news world this month with a human heart built by one of their supercomputers. Led by doctors and researchers, the Alya Red project is set to revolutionize the way we approach future drug testing. The supercomputer-created heart recreates every major function of a biological heart, including beats, electrical conduction and blood pressure. Created from MRIs of actual human hearts, the model allows doctors to study and understand the functions of the cardiac system in a way that’s never been done before. But the real scientific breakthroughs from the 3d heart model will come later, as it is used for drug testing and medication interactions. By programming a patient’s unique ad specific information, doctors will soon be able to pinpoint exactly how a medicine will interact with your body long before you take the first pill or administer a shot. What’s more, not only will this type of patient specific testing give doctors a better grasp on how certain medications will help – or harm – their charges, it also opens the door for a world where animal testing as we know it today will be all but obsolete.