A simulation and integration environment for heterogeneous physiology-models

Currently, many different tools exist aimed at the simulation of models that represent the human physiology. These models and simulation tools are developed in specific languages, and models are interoperable with other models represented in the same or similar languages. In this paper, we present a new tool, which is developed to offer a common frame of simulation for models developed in different programming languages. This simulation environment is targeted at bio-researchers and medical students, and constitutes a framework to support the observation and analysis of physiological mechanisms. The tool has been evaluated using models of the physiology of a chronic disease, namely the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Eight deterministic models and one probabilistic model have been considered, which are related to the respiratory chain and are represented in different languages.