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WinSAAM is a Windows oriented modeling program enabling the
user to explore biological systems using mathematical models.
It has evolved from the original SAAM program developed by Dr. Mones
Berman at the National Institutes of Health.
SAAM has now seen many thousands of applications in biology, medicine,
engineering, and agriculture either in its original form (SAAM19 – SAAM27), or
in its first interactive form, Consam.
At the heart of WinSAAM are two key concepts, compartments
and inter-compartmental transfers. Compartments
are essentially zones in which entities of interest are homogeneously
distributed, and the inter-compartmental transfers portray the processes
responsible for moving the entities from one such zone to another.
Whilst the utility of this approach to biology (compartmental analysis)
is almost unbounded, it is particularly suited for: 1) the examination of
physiologic-based nutrient transport problems using radiotracer/stable isotope
data and 2) the investigation of chemically-based metabolic studies using in vitro digestion and reaction kinetic data.
The specific
strengths of WinSAAM to address these types of problems include:
·
a highly refined set of modeling constructs with which models can
be easily created
·
the automatic generation of the set of mathematical equations
underpinning the model constructs
·
linear and nonlinear systems easily managed in a common syntax
·
automatic model fitting to data without the need for translating
the model constructs
·
several sensible flexible data weighting schemes
·
six efficient, automatically selected, and dynamically tuned
numerical integrators
·
automatically resolved linear and nonlinear parameter dependency
management
·
steady state solutions for linear and nonlinear systems, and the
capability for incorporation of steady state data into the model fitting
process
·
flexible access to modeling constructs
·
batch and interactive processing
·
two-stage population parameter estimation procedure
·
macro editor and macro processing
And specifically
for the user’s convenience, the graphical user interface supports:
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a console window from which the modeling session is driven, and
the console window also provides access to allied work areas
·
a graphical editor in which models and data may be entered or into
which spreadsheet (or simple text) versions of both models and data may be
independently or jointly loaded
·
a spreadsheet utility which captures processing results for export to
alternate processing and productivity environments
·
a graphics utility capable of producing publication quality plots
and the export of these in an extensive array of formats for further refinement
using different graphic software
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a batch processor and batch output management window
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a logging capability
Each of these services is self-contained in a naturally
resourced window.
Perhaps, though the
greatest strengths of WinSAAM are
·
its modeless operation … which means that users are unencumbered
by developer perceptions as to how modeling ought to be done
·
its command driven operation … enabling total investigative
control in the user’s hands
·
its seamless linkage to the STATA statistical modeling setting …
bringing the power and flexibility of STATA to the ambit of any modeling
session. The user is not limited to
the statistical support contained within WinSAAM
·
a close-nit user community eager to assist one-another and to meet
and exchange ideas and approaches to scientific investigation using WinSAAM
·
24/7 courteous, and authoritative, help available for installation
and application
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