Published on 21-Dec-2008
Validated on 07 Jan 2013
"A few seconds of computer simulation could replace days, even weeks, of wet lab research." - Henry Markram, project head and founder, Brain and Mind Institute, EPFL
Customer:
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Industry:
Education, Life Sciences
Deployment country:
Switzerland
Solution:
Smarter Planet
Smarter Planet:
Smarter Healthcare
Overview
One of two higher-learning polytechnic schools in Switzerland, the EPFL—a 10,000-person campus—has three missions: education, research and technology transfer at the highest international level.
Business need:
Modeling the brain at the cellular level is a massive undertaking because of the hundreds of thousands of parameters that have to be taken into account.
Solution:
EPFL’s Blue Brain project is working to develop the first biologically accurate, functional model of the human brain, with molecular-level models of neurons and cellular-level models of brain circuitry. And the school plans to do this by 2015.
Benefits:
EPFL scientists will have the tools they need to understand brain function and advance research into neurological and psychiatric disorders. They expect to advance brain research rapidly by running simulations of the brain in close to real time.
Case Study
Overview
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Lausanne, Switzerland
www.epfl.ch
Industry
• Education and life sciences
Products and services
• IBM Blue Gene
One of two higher-learning polytechnic schools in Switzerland, the EPFL has three missions: education, research and technology transfer at the highest international level. The 10,000-person campus, which is situated in an idyllic location on the shores of Lake Geneva, stimulates collaboration between students, professors, researchers and entrepreneurs.
Challenge
Scientists are advancing each year in their understanding of how the brain works, and many of their discoveries are the result of high-resolution computer modeling. Modeling the brain at the cellular level is a massive undertaking because of the hundreds of thousands of parameters that have to be taken into account. Launched in 2005, EPFL’s Blue Brain project is working to develop the first biologically accurate, functional model of the human brain, with molecular-level models of neurons and cellular-level models of brain circuitry. And the school plans to do this by 2015.
Solution
An IBM Blue Gene® supercomputer running simulations of the brain down to the molecular level is helping EPFL researchers gain new insights into internal processes such as thought, perception and memory. The Blue Brain model can be thought of as a three-dimensional database receiving data about various brain regions from networked researchers around the world. Much of the pretesting and planning normally required for a major experiment can now be done “in silico” rather than in the laboratory, greatly speeding the research on brain function.
Benefits
As a result of these high-level supercomputing sessions, EPFL scientists will have the tools they need to understand brain function and advance research into neurological and psychiatric disorders. They expect to advance brain research rapidly by running simulations of the brain in close to real time.
“A few seconds of computer simulation could replace days, even weeks, of wet lab research.”—Henry Markram, project head and founder, Brain and Mind Institute, EPFL
Legal Information
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2008 IBM Corporation 1 New Orchard Road Armonk, NY 10504 U.S.A. Produced in the United States of America November 2008 All Rights Reserved. IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, and Blue Gene are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. If these and other IBM trademarked terms are marked on their first occurrence in this information with a trademark symbol (® or ™), these symbols indicate U.S. registered or common law trademarks owned by IBM at the time this information was published. Such trademarks may also be registered or common law trademarks in other countries. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml. Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. The information contained in this documentation is provided for informational purposes only. While efforts were made to verify the completeness and accuracy of the information contained in this documentation, it is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, express or implied. In addition, this information is based on IBM’s current product plans and strategy, which are subject to change by IBM without notice. IBM shall not be responsible for any damages arising out of the use of, or otherwise related to, this documentation or any other documentation. Nothing contained in this documentation is intended to, nor shall have the effect of, creating any warranties or representations from IBM (or its suppliers or licensors), or altering the terms and conditions of the applicable license agreement governing the use of IBM software. This document illustrates how one organization uses IBM products. Many factors have contributed to the results and benefits described; IBM does not guarantee comparable results elsewhere. References in this publication to IBM products or services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates. ODC03117-USEN-00