Digital twin in healthcare: Recent updates and challenges

Abstract

As simulation is playing an increasingly important role in medicine, providing the individual patient with a customised diagnosis and treatment is envisaged as part of future precision medicine. Such customisation will become possible through the emergence of digital twin (DT) technology. The objective of this article is to review the progress of prominent research on DT technology in medicine and discuss the potential applications and future opportunities as well as several challenges remaining in digital healthcare. A review of the literature was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus and related bibliographic resources, in which the following terms and their derivatives were considered during the search: DT, medicine and digital health virtual healthcare. Finally, analyses of the literature yielded 465 pertinent articles, of which we selected 22 for detailed review. We summarised the application examples of DT in medicine and analysed the applications in many fields of medicine. It revealed encouraging results that DT is being increasing applied in medicine. Results from this literature review indicated that DT healthcare, as a key fusion approach of future medicine, will bring the advantages of precision diagnose and personalised treatment into reality.

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“…Forschende der Medizin beschäftigen sich in den letzten Jahren ebenso stark mit Digitalen Zwillingen [8]. Dort sollen sie in Zukunft für Diagnosen, aber auch für Vorhersagen, z.…”

Enabling Personalized Medicine in Orthopaedic Surgery Through Artificial Intelligence

“…Digital twin refers to the use of big data, sensor technology, and the internet of things to create a digital replication of living or nonliving things 162–166 (Table VI). Digital twin can be a virtual copy of human organs, tissues, cells, or microenvironment that constantly adjusts based on available online data and possesses the ability to predict the future of the real-life counterpart 163 . Investigators predict that this revolutionary ability will result in precision medicine and make precise diagnoses, select treatment plans, and predict treatment effects 162,163 .…”

“…In addition, an interesting example of personalized medicine is the digital twin. Digital twin refers to the use of big data, sensor technology, and the internet of things to create a digital replication of living or nonliving things 162–166 (Table VI). Digital twin can be a virtual copy of human organs, tissues, cells, or microenvironment that constantly adjusts based on available online data and possesses the ability to predict the future of the real-life counterpart 163 .…”

“…Digital twin can be a virtual copy of human organs, tissues, cells, or microenvironment that constantly adjusts based on available online data and possesses the ability to predict the future of the real-life counterpart 163 . Investigators predict that this revolutionary ability will result in precision medicine and make precise diagnoses, select treatment plans, and predict treatment effects 162,163 . Although these applications are at the beginning of conceptualization and creation, it is interesting to reflect on the future of AI if care is taken to create these models cautiously and accurately.…”

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“…9 Digital health systems and digital twins have introduced a new player to diagnosis and treatment algorithms. [10][11][12][13] These systems can be used to improve diagnostic accuracy and provide personalized treatments. 6 Due to the COVID epidemic, remote treatment and monitoring improved, resulting in the need to enhance home therapies and hybrid departments, which divide healthcare between the department of medicine and the patient's residence.…”