3D Multiscale Modelling of Angiogenesis and Vascular Tumour Growth - Bioanalysis Advanced Materials Methods and Devices - page 45

enable us to identify those biophysical mechanisms that dominate the system
dynamics and to use this information to derive simpler models which exhibit the
same behaviour. Unfortunately, simulations are very time-consuming—the simula-
tion shown in Fig. 3.2 takes several days on a desktop computer, and then several
realisations of the Monte Carlo simulation have to be carried out for a statistical
analysis. Therefore, future optimisations and the parallelisation of the computer
programme are essential. One also has to investigate to which extent the models are
overdetermined, meaning that changes in different parameters lead to the same
pattern in the simulations.
Beside these limitations, multiscale models build promising frameworks for
future developments. They enable us to investigate how processes operating on
different space and time scales interact and to study the effect that such interactions
have on the overall system dynamics. They also enable researchers in different
areas to link and couple their models. To simplify this model exchange, model
interfaces have to be defined and standardised. Equally, multiscale models can be
used to develop and parametrise simpler continuum models that can be solved more
efficiently. Most current multiscale models generate qualitatively accurate and
meaningful results, and, therefore, they can be applied to identify sensitive
mechanisms that then stimulate biological experiments.
Acknowledgements HMB, MRO and HP acknowledge financial support by the Marie Curie
Network MMBNOTT (Project No. MEST-CT-2005-020723). RAG and PKM acknowledge partial
support from NIH/NCI grant U54CA143970. HP, AL and MR thank the BMBF—Funding
Initiative FORSYS Partner: “Predictive Cancer Therapy”. In vivo window chamber work was
funded in part by Moffitt Cancer Center PS-OC NIH/NCI U54CA143970. This publication was
based on work supported in part by Award No. KUK-C1-1013-04, made by King Abdullah
University of Science and Technology (KAUST).
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