Modelling, synthesis and realization of HGH mechanism using VHDL and FPGAs

The goal of this article is to develop a technique for realization of biological mechanisms onto a compact electronic chip. The chip allows researchers to carry out extensive investigations of the mechanisms. This investigation may yield to development of drugs to treat disorders that may exist in the mechanism. The authors present a hardware realization of a simplified Human Growth Hormone (HGH) secretion mechanism. The mechanism is developed into a flowchart and then simulated using Hardware Descriptive Language (HDL). After verifying the simulation results, computer-aided design (CAD) tools are used to synthesize the mechanism onto Xilinx FPGAs chip. The chip is tested by inputting signals with values corresponding to the concentration of GHRH and the concentration of SRIF. User-selected output pins on the chip show the concentration of HGH and the concentration of IGF-I. The outputs are compared with those generated by the simulation. Both the simulation and the chip generate identical patterns. The authors conclude that the chip mimics the HGH mechanism. The chip after synthesis is a stand-alone system that does not need a computer for operation. The chip operates on a real-time basis.