SIMCON—simulation control to optimize man-machine interaction

Abstract

The fitting of mathematical models to physiological sys tems can be tedious and difficult, whether one uses analog or digital computer methods. Both methods have their pros and cons depending on the available hardware and software and on the type of modeling. In recent years many digital simulation languages have been written com bining analog-like and digital features to facilitate model ing, but, for a variety of reasons, none of these was suit able for our applications. We, therefore, designed a new digital simulation control system, SIMCON, which is de scribed in this paper. The primary objectives were to provide: (1) Maximum man-machine interaction at run-time, in cluding visual displays, digital control, and both con tinuous analog and digital parameter adjustment (2) The ability to generate solutions and to fit them to experimental data or other theoretical curves with a minimum of computer memory (3) The option to use a mathematically oriented language, FORTRAN, and block operators with variable input/ output. The result is a relatively general and simple simulation system which is easy to use and has wide versatility.