Coordination of an EU Framework VII Large Scale Integrating Project (IP) for Integrative Brain Imaging-Modelling: Request for a Travel Grant

对于医学专家和医疗政策制定者来说，越来越明显的是，治疗和预防的有效性和经济性与服务的个性化密切相关。这一趋势的基础是对更好的长期结果的不断增长的需求，也是因为人口(尤其是在西方世界)正在老龄化，而最受关注的医疗条件正是那些可以从针对个人特定特征进行调整的方法中受益最大的。与此同时，第二种认识已经发生，这与快速、有针对性地将自然科学的技术、工具和成果转化为临床医学所承诺的巨大回报有关。如今，从最早的阶段起，工程和计算原理和技术就被用于发明、设计和制造具有重大临床价值的新设备和方案。我们设想推出的计划建立在这些原则的基础上，因为它们适用于人脑。我们专注于一个特别包容和具有挑战性的概念，它主导着大脑环境的运行和调节，即液体(水，以脑脊液和血液的形式)渗透到脑组织的方式，以及它们的流动和运输是如何被调节的。大脑需要源源不断的供给，主要是氧气和葡萄糖。它已经开发出一种非凡的能力，通过非常复杂的运输调节机制确保这些补给到达实质的所有部分；大脑通过可变保持稳定。大脑不是试图保持不变，而是修改其状态以满足外部需求。这种能力使其能够(通常以快速方式)对其环境中可能是渐进的或突然的变化做出反应。该研究计划旨在将我们对这些进程(目前充其量也就是不完整的)的理解提升到一个新的水平。通过将计算机建模、成像、实验和临床观察相结合，我们将：-通过优化和合理化诊断和干预措施来提高患者的安全性-基本上转向针对患者的医疗保健提供-加强我们对神经疾病的病因学和治疗替代方案的了解。实现这些目标所需的专业知识水平需要形成一个由来自学术界、工业界和医学界的广泛国际专家组成的联盟。本投标请求提供资源，以促进这一联合体建设工作，使国际和平协会能够前往选定的地点，并有效地谈判将这些专家伙伴纳入该联合体的问题。

It is becoming apparent to medical experts and healthcare policy makers alike that effectiveness and economy in treatment and prevention are strongly connected with personalisation of service. This trend is underpinned by the ever-increasing demand for better long-term results, but also from the fact that the population (especially in the Western world) is aging and that the medical conditions that are of dominant concern are exactly those that can benefit the most from approaches that are tuned to address the individual's specific profile.At the same time, a second realisation has occurred, one that is connected to the vast rewards that quick and targeted translation of techniques, tools and results from the natural sciences to clinical medicine promises to deliver. Nowadays, engineering and computing principles and techniques are used from the earliest stage to invent, design and manufacture novel devices and protocols of substantial clinical value. The programme that we envisage launching builds on these principles, as they are applied to the human brain. We focus on a particularly inclusive and challenging concept that dominates the operation and regulation of the cerebral environment, i.e. the way fluids (water, in the form of cerebrospinal fluid, and blood) permeate the cerebral tissue and how their flow and transport is regulated. The brain is in constant need of supplies, mainly oxygen and glucose, to function. It has developed a remarkable capability to ensure that these supplies reach all parts of the parenchyma by very sophisticated transport regulation mechanisms; the brain remains stable by being variable . Rather than attempting to maintain invariance, the brain modifies its state to meet external demands. This capability allows it to respond (often in a rapid fashion) to changes in its environment that may be gradual or abrupt. The programme of research aims to bring our understanding of these processes (that is currently incomplete, at best) to a new level. By combining computer modelling, imaging, experiments and clinical observations, we shall:-improve patient safety by optimising and rationalising diagnosis and interventions-move substantially towards patient-specific healthcare provision-enhance our understanding of the aetiology and treatment alternatives of neurological diseaseThe level of expertise necessary to achieve these goals necessitates the formation of a wide international consortium of experts from academia, industry and medicine. The present bid requests resources to facilitate this consortium-building exercise, by enabling the PI to travel to select sites and negotiate effectively the integration of such expert partners in this consortium.