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[[File:{{#setmainimage:DENIS@Home Logo.png}}|alt=logo image|center|frameless]]
{{Infobox software
| name                = DENIS@home
| logo                = DENIS@Home Logo.png
| logo caption        =
| screenshot          = Denispref.png
| caption              = DENIS@home application preferences interface


[https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/ '''''DENIS@home'''''] is a '''''[[wikipedia:Volunteer computing|volunteer distributed computing]]''''' project that needs your help to investigate cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).
| status              = Inactive
| category            = Medical physiology
| compute              = CPU
| dependencies        = None
 
| developer            = CoMBA Research Group, Universidad San Jorge
| released            = {{Start date and age|2015|03|16}}
| completed            = No
| discontinued        =
 
| programming language = C++
| operating system    = Windows, Linux, macOS
 
| website              = {{URL|https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/}}
| license              = [[wikipedia:Apache License|Apache License 2.0]]
}}
 
[https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/ '''''DENIS@home'''''] is a '''''[[wikipedia:Volunteer computing|volunteer distributed computing]]''''' project based on the [[wikipedia:Berkeley_Open_Infrastructure_for_Network_Computing|BOINC]] middleware platform. The project is operated by the CoMBA (Computational Multiscale Biology and Medicine) research group at [[wikipedia:Universidad San Jorge|Universidad San Jorge]] in Zaragoza, Spain, and focuses on large-scale simulations of cardiac electrophysiology and cardiovascular disease research.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/ |title=DENIS@home |publisher=Universidad San Jorge |access-date=2026-05-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Monasterio |first1=Violeta |last2=Castro-Mur |first2=Jesús |last3=Carro |first3=Jesús |title=DENIS: Solving cardiac electrophysiological simulations with volunteer computing |journal=PLoS ONE |volume=13 |issue=10 |year=2018 |pages=e0205568 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0205568}}</ref>
 
The project's name is an acronym representing its five main principles: '''D'''istributed computing, '''E'''lectrophysiological models, '''N'''etworking collaboration, '''I'''n silico research, and '''S'''haring knowledge.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/ |title=DENIS@home Overview |publisher=Universidad San Jorge |access-date=2026-05-19}}</ref>
[[File:Villanueva de Gállego - Campus de la Universidad San Jorge 1.jpg|thumb|250x250px|[[wikipedia:Universidad San Jorge|Universidad San Jorge]], home institution of the DENIS@home project]]
 
== History ==
DENIS@home was launched in 2016 as a research initiative to use volunteer computing for the simulation of cardiac electrophysiological models.<ref>{{Cite conference |last1=Castro-Mur |first1=J. |last2=Monasterio |first2=V. |last3=Carro |first3=J. |title=Volunteer Computing Approach for the Collaborative Simulation of Electrophysiological Models |book-title=IEEE 25th International Conference on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises (WETICE) |year=2016 |pages=118–123 |doi=10.1109/WETICE.2016.34}}</ref> The project was developed by researchers from the CoMBA group to provide computational resources for large-scale studies into cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular cell behavior, and the effects of drugs on the human heart.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Monasterio |first1=Violeta |last2=Castro-Mur |first2=Jesús |last3=Carro |first3=Jesús |title=DENIS: Solving cardiac electrophysiological simulations with volunteer computing |journal=PLoS ONE |volume=13 |issue=10 |year=2018 |pages=e0205568 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0205568}}</ref>
 
The project was listed among BOINC-based scientific computing initiatives by the [[wikipedia:University of California, Berkeley|University of California, Berkeley]] and has been referenced in volunteer computing communities and distributed computing forums.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://boinc.berkeley.edu/projects.php |title=BOINC Projects List |publisher=University of California, Berkeley |access-date=2026-05-19}}</ref>


== Why DENIS@home? ==
== Why DENIS@home? ==
More than 17 million people die each year of cardiovascular diseases. That represents 31% of all global deaths, making these diseases the leading cause of death worldwide.
More than 17 million people die each year from cardiovascular diseases, representing approximately 31% of all global deaths.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cardiovascular-diseases-(cvds) |title=Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) |publisher=World Health Organization |access-date=2026-05-19}}</ref> DENIS@home was created to provide researchers with the computational power required to investigate the electrical activity of the heart and develop improved cardiac electrophysiological models.
 
The platform allows volunteers to donate unused CPU processing time from their personal computers to scientific simulations.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/ |title=DENIS@home |publisher=Universidad San Jorge |access-date=2026-05-19}}</ref>


== Goal ==
== Goal ==
Line 13: Line 45:
* <u>'''I'''</u>n silico research
* <u>'''I'''</u>n silico research
* <u>'''S'''</u>haring knowledge
* <u>'''S'''</u>haring knowledge
=== <u>D</u>istributed computing ===
DENIS@home uses volunteer computers to perform large numbers of cardiac electrophysiological simulations. The project uses the idle processing capacity of Windows, Linux, and macOS computers connected through the BOINC middleware platform.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://boinc.berkeley.edu/ |title=BOINC |publisher=University of California, Berkeley |access-date=2026-05-19}}</ref>
The distributed nature of BOINC enables researchers to process large simulation batches that would otherwise require access to expensive supercomputing infrastructure.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=David P. |title=BOINC: A System for Public-Resource Computing and Storage |journal=5th IEEE/ACM International Workshop on Grid Computing |year=2004 |doi=10.1109/GRID.2004.14}}</ref>
=== <u>E</u>lectrophysiological models ===
DENIS@home computes large sets of cardiac electrophysiological model variations. These models mathematically represent the electrical behavior of cardiac cells and are used to study arrhythmias, heart failure, and drug interactions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Carro |first1=J. |last2=Rodríguez-Matas |first2=J.F. |last3=Pueyo |first3=E. |title=A Methodology to Improve Human Ventricular Models for the Investigation of Cardiac Arrhythmias |journal=Biophysical Journal |volume=111 |issue=12 |year=2016 |pages=2706–2715 |doi=10.1016/j.bpj.2016.11.2183}}</ref>
The models are described using the [[wikipedia:CellML|CellML]] language, an XML-based open standard developed by the Auckland Bioengineering Institute for storing and exchanging mathematical biological models.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cellml.org/ |title=CellML |publisher=Auckland Bioengineering Institute |access-date=2026-05-19}}</ref>
[[File:Ekg normal bionerd.jpg|thumb|Cardiac electrical activity measured using an electrocardiogram]]
=== <u>N</u>etworking collaboration ===
The project was designed to connect volunteers and researchers internationally through a collaborative computing infrastructure. DENIS@home also encourages scientific collaboration between institutions and research groups working in computational cardiology.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Monasterio |first1=Violeta |last2=Castro-Mur |first2=Jesús |last3=Carro |first3=Jesús |title=DENIS: Solving cardiac electrophysiological simulations with volunteer computing |journal=PLoS ONE |volume=13 |issue=10 |year=2018 |pages=e0205568 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0205568}}</ref>
=== <u>I</u>n silico research ===
The project focuses on ''in silico'' cardiac simulations, allowing researchers to investigate heart behavior under normal and pathological conditions using computer models rather than laboratory or clinical experimentation alone.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Monasterio |first1=Violeta |last2=Castro-Mur |first2=Jesús |last3=Carro |first3=Jesús |title=DENIS: Solving cardiac electrophysiological simulations with volunteer computing |journal=PLoS ONE |volume=13 |issue=10 |year=2018 |pages=e0205568 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0205568}}</ref>
=== <u>S</u>haring knowledge ===
DENIS@home promotes open scientific research. Results produced using the project are expected to be published openly, and the software developed for the project is released under the Apache License 2.0.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 |title=Apache License 2.0 |publisher=Apache Software Foundation |access-date=2026-05-19}}</ref>


== Methods ==
== Methods ==
With a simple check of a box, DENIS@home volunteers have a choice to run one or more of these applications:
Volunteers may choose to run one or more scientific applications through the BOINC client:
 
* '''[https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/projects.php#DENIS_Myocyte_Beta Beta of DENIS-myocyte (DENIS_Myocyte_Beta)]''': Testing application used to validate modifications to the simulation software.
* '''[https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/projects.php#NHuVe New human ventricular cell model (NHuVe)]''': Development of updated ventricular cell electrophysiological models.
* '''[https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/projects.php#HuVeMOp Human ventricular cell models optimization (HuVeMOp)]''': Optimization of commonly used ventricular cell models for electrophysiological marker representation.
 
Electrophysiological models are used to investigate the electrical activity of cardiac cells and predict the effects of pharmaceutical compounds and pathological conditions on the heart.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Carro |first1=J. |last2=Rodríguez-Matas |first2=J.F. |last3=Pueyo |first3=E. |title=A Methodology to Improve Human Ventricular Models for the Investigation of Cardiac Arrhythmias |journal=Biophysical Journal |volume=111 |issue=12 |year=2016 |pages=2706–2715 |doi=10.1016/j.bpj.2016.11.2183}}</ref>


* '''[https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/projects.php#DENIS_Myocyte_Beta ''Beta of DENIS-myocyte (DENIS_Myocyte_Beta)'']''': Beta version of the simulator used for all DENIS@home applications. Every modification of the simulator is tested under this application.
All DENIS@home software is distributed under the Apache License 2.0 and source code has been published through the project's Bitbucket repositories.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://bitbucket.org/comba_usj/workspace/projects/DENIS |title=DENIS Bitbucket Repository |publisher=Bitbucket |access-date=2026-05-19}}</ref>[[File:Denispref.png|700px|alt=preferences|none|thumb|DENIS@home application selection preferences]]
* '''[https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/projects.php#NHuVe ''New human ventricular cell model (NHuVe)'']''': Development of a new version of the model proposed by Carro et. al (2011).
* '''[https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/projects.php#HuVeMOp ''Human ventricular cell models optimization (HuVeMOp)'']''': Optimization of the public and most used human ventricular cell models for the representation of electrophysiological markers.


[[wikipedia:Electrophysiology|'''''Electrophysiological''''']] models are a powerful tool to study the electrical activity of cardiac cells under normal or pathological conditions and can also help predict the effects of drugs in the heart. Because these models are complex, it's necessary to simulate them many times (varying the conditions or model parameters). For this reason, researchers in this field usually require high computational power and BOINC is the perfect solution to distribute the work to volunteer computers and achieve that high computational power.
== Computing platform ==
DENIS@home applications are available for:
* Microsoft Windows
* Linux
* macOS
 
The project primarily uses CPU-based computations and supports both 32-bit and 64-bit systems depending on application version.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/apps.php |title=DENIS@home Applications |publisher=Universidad San Jorge |access-date=2026-05-19}}</ref>


== Project team / Sponsors ==
== Project team / Sponsors ==
Jesús Carro. Violeta Monasterio. Alejandro Alcaine. Marta Gómez.
The members of the research group participating in the project include:
* Jesús Carro
* Violeta Monasterio
* Alejandro Alcaine
* Marta Gómez


Universidad San Jorge.
DENIS@home is developed and maintained by the CoMBA research group at [[wikipedia:Universidad San Jorge|Universidad San Jorge]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.usj.es/investigacion/grupos-investigacion/CoMBA |title=CoMBA Research Group |publisher=Universidad San Jorge |access-date=2026-05-19}}</ref>


== Scientific results ==
== Scientific results ==
https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/publications.php
The project publishes scientific results and associated research papers through its official publications page.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/publications.php |title=DENIS@home Publications |publisher=Universidad San Jorge |access-date=2026-05-19}}</ref>


== Scientific publications ==
== Scientific publications ==


Research results from DENIS@home
=== Research results from DENIS@home ===
# J. Carro (2019). [https://zaguan.unizar.es/record/78866 ''New Methodologies for the Development and Validation of Electrophysiological Models''. PhD Thesis (2019)].  
# J. Carro (2019). ''[https://zaguan.unizar.es/record/78866 New Methodologies for the Development and Validation of Electrophysiological Models]''. PhD Thesis.
# J. Carro, J.F. Rodríguez-Matas, E. Pueyo (2017). ''[https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2016.11.2183 A Methodology to Improve Human Ventricular Models for the Investigation of Cardiac Arrhythmias]''. Biophysical Journal. DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2016.11.2183.
# J. Carro, J.F. Rodríguez-Matas, E. Pueyo (2016). ''[https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2016.11.2183 A Methodology to Improve Human Ventricular Models for the Investigation of Cardiac Arrhythmias]''. ''Biophysical Journal'' 111(12):2706–2715.
# V. Monasterio, J. Castro-Mur, J. Carro (2018). ''[https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205568 DENIS: Solving cardiac electrophysiological simulations with volunteer computing]''. ''PLoS ONE'' 13(10):e0205568.
# J. Castro-Mur, V. Monasterio, J. Carro (2016). ''[https://doi.org/10.1109/WETICE.2016.34 Volunteer Computing Approach for the Collaborative Simulation of Electrophysiological Models]''. IEEE WETICE 2016.
 
=== Research results using DENIS@home software ===
# M. Gomez, J. Carro, E. Pueyo, V. Monasterio (2022). ''[http://doi.org/10.22489/CinC.2022.228 An in Silico Investigation into the Role of SK Channels in Failing Ventricular Myocytes]''. Computing in Cardiology Conference 2022.
# M. Gomez, J. Carro, V. Monasterio, E. Pueyo (2022). ''[https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/jji3a/article/view/7021/5804 Investigación in silico sobre el papel de los canales SK en miocitos ventriculares de pacientes con insuficiencia cardiaca]''. Jornada de Jóvenes Investigadores e Investigadoras del I3A.
# M. Gómez, J. Carro, E. Pueyo, V. Monasterio (2021). ''[https://seib.org.es/descarga/libro-de-actas-caseib-2021/?wpdmdl=3382 Modificación de un modelo de miocito ventricular humano para representar el papel de los canales SK en insuficiencia cardiaca]''. CASEIB 2021.
 
=== Publications about DENIS@home ===
# V. Monasterio, J. Castro-Mur, J. Carro (2018). ''[https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205568 DENIS: Solving cardiac electrophysiological simulations with volunteer computing]''. ''PLoS ONE'' 13(10):e0205568.
# J. Castro-Mur, V. Monasterio, J. Carro (2016). ''[https://doi.org/10.1109/WETICE.2016.34 Volunteer Computing Approach for the Collaborative Simulation of Electrophysiological Models]''. IEEE WETICE 2016.
 
== See also ==
* [[wikipedia:BOINC|BOINC]]
* [[wikipedia:Volunteer computing|Volunteer computing]]
* [[wikipedia:Cardiac electrophysiology|Cardiac electrophysiology]]
* [[wikipedia:CellML|CellML]]


Research results using DENIS@home software
== External links ==
# M. Gomez, J. Carro, E. Pueyo, V. Monasterio (2022) ''[http://doi.org/10.22489/CinC.2022.228 An in Silico Investigation into the Role of SK Channels in Failing Ventricular Myocytes]''. Proceedings of the XLVIII International Conference on Computing in Cardiology. Tampere, Finland DOI: 10.22489/CinC.2022.228.
* [https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/ Official website]
# M. Gomez, J. Carro, V. Monasterio, E. Pueyo (2022). ''[https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/jji3a/article/view/7021/5804 Investigación in silico sobre el papel de los canales SK en miocitos ventriculares de pacientes con insuficiencia cardiaca]''. Jornada de Jóvenes Investigadores e Investigadoras del I3A (ISSN:2341-4790) Vol. 10 (2022): Actas de la XI Jornada de Jóvenes Investigadores e Investigadoras del I3A - 16 de junio de 2022. DOI: 10.26754/jjii3a.20227021.
* [https://denis.usj.es/denisathome/forum_index.php Message boards]
# M. Gómez, J. Carro, E. Pueyo, V. Monasterio (2021) ''[https://seib.org.es/descarga/libro-de-actas-caseib-2021/?wpdmdl=3382 Modificación de un modelo de miocito ventricular humano para representar el papel de los canales SK en insuficiencia cardiaca]''. XXXIX Congreso de la Sociedad Española de Ingeniería Biomédica CASEIB. Madrid, España.
* [https://bitbucket.org/comba_usj/workspace/projects/DENIS Source code repository]
* [https://boinc.berkeley.edu/ BOINC official website]


Publications about DENIS@home
== References ==
# V. Monasterio, J. Castro-Mur, J. Carro (2018). ''[https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205568 DENIS: Solving cardiac electrophysiological simulations with volunteer computing]''. PLoS ONE 13(10): e0205568. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205568.
{{Reflist}}
# J. Castro-Mur, V. Monasterio, J. Carro (2016). ''[https://doi.org/10.1109/WETICE.2016.34 Volunteer Computing Approach for the Collaborative Simulation of Electrophysiological Models]''. IEEE 25th International Conference on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises (WETICE), Paris, France, 2016, pp. 118-123, DOI: 10.1109/WETICE.2016.34.
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