När porten öppnades för datorn in i den medicinska världen

En berättelse från gamla tider i Uppsala

Abstract

In the early 1960’s in Uppsala / Sweden, the author was engaged in a research project on iron metabolism and hematopoiesis. Quite accidentally, he met another Swiss scientist, a physicist with special interest in computer physics. Together, they developed a general computer model for the simulation of biological processes, especially iron metabolism. The collaboration continued with programs for digital patient records and for the analysis of epidemiological data. This close collaboration made medical researchers in Uppsala aware of the possibilities of the computer technology to solve problems with big data collections and advanced statistical analyses. In the following years and decades new medical computer applications were developed in Uppsala, such as planning for radiotherapy, Image-Based Decision Support and Virtual Reality Systems.