Tech & Innovation in Healthcare

Question: Could you please explain the concept of digital twins in healthcare?Tennessee Subscriber

Answer: In healthcare, digital twins are three-dimensional, functioning computer models that are developed to accurately replicate a patient, body anatomy, or other living structure. The models are built with data collected from sensors and devices connected to the original subject. The 3D models are a safe and welcome alternative to in vivo studies, so scientists and healthcare professionals can test different procedures or therapies without possibly harming a person or animal.

“The digital twin is the way to take all of the accumulated knowledge of the human body and bring it together in a form that is usable by everyone from researchers to regulators and clinical caregivers — even the patient themselves. Your digital twin takes everything we know about the human body, modified for your unique physiology and creates a ‘single-source-of-truth’ for your health,” says Steven Levine, PhD, senior director of Virtual Human Twin at Dassault Systèmes in Boston, Massachusetts.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) released its first Digital Twindex in 2023, where TCS futurists found that 52 percent of respondents believe digital twin adoption in healthcare will occur in the next three years, while 42 percent agreed that a decade is needed “before full digital twins of human bodies become commonplace.” Respondents also felt that “connected, real-time healthcare” was one of the two digital twin-use cases that would impact human life the most.

Learn more about digital twins in healthcare in the article, “Get the Scoop on How Digital Twins Hone Post-COVID Treatment Plans,” in Tech & Innovation in Healthcare, Volume 2, Issue 3.