Feedback Medicine: Control Systems Concepts in Personalised, Predictive Medicine and Combinatorial Intervention
q-bio/0603032, (March 2006)Abstract
In its broadest definition, systems biology is the application of a `systems' way of thinking about and doing cell biology. By implication, this also invites us to consider a systems approach in the context of medicine and the treatment of disease. In particular, the idea that systems biology can form the basis of a personalised, predictive medicine will require that much closer attention is paid to the analytic properties of the feedback loops which will be set up by a personalised approach to healthcare. To emphasize the role that feedback theory will play in understanding personalised medicine, we use the term feedback medicine to describe the issues outlined.In these notes we consider feedback and control systems concepts applied to two important themes in medical systems biology - personalised medicine and combinatorial intervention. In particular, we formulate a feedback control interpretation for the administration of medicine, and relate them to various forms of medical treatment.