USING MATHEMATICAL AND COMPUTER MODELING METHODS TO STUDY PHARMACOKINETIC PROCESSES

Source abstract

This paper analyzes the possibilities of using mathematical and computer modeling methods to describe the processes occurring in the body during various drug administration routes. The authors provide a detailed examination of pharmacokinetic models that adequately describe the most com- monly used drug administration methods in medical practice – namely, the one-compartment linear model and the one-compartment linear model with a depot. The stages of creating the corresponding models using differential equations are discussed, along with the methods of their solutions, an analysis of the obtained results, and graphical illustrations. These pharmacokinetic models allow for a sufficiently good description of the processes that occur during a single injection into the bloodstream, infusion, oral, and intramuscular drug administration. At the same time, understanding the essence of these processes is fundamental to the development of innovative methods capable of providing effective pharmaceutical support in the con- text of modern technological progress. The authors justify the feasibility of using computer mathematics systems (using MathCad as an example) to analyze pharmacokinetic models. The broad capabilities of the MathCad program for the operational modification of input parameters (elimination constant, absorption and distribution coefficients, infusion rate, etc.) allow for modeling various scenarios of distribution and changes in the concentra- tion of the drug in the body with different administration routes. The article justifies the feasibility and demonstrates the range of possibilities for using computer modeling in the training of future specialists in the field of healthcare. It shows that the ability to apply modeling methods to solve practical problems in modern medicine is an important component of the professional competence of today’s physicians and pharmacists. Using one- compartment pharmacokinetic models as an example, the methodology of synergistic integration of fundamental (biophysics, mathematics, computer modeling) and specialized clinical disciplines is demonstrated. The skills to model and analyze such processes, trained to the level of automation, form the foundation of research competence and enable the execution of projects involving transdermal (subcutaneous) administration of drugs or other in- novative technologies, which future physicians must master during their education in medical universities. The developed didactic system is focused on studying mathematical and computer modeling methods and their extensive use in scientific research and professional case.