Digital Twins and the Promise of Personalized Medicine

Can you guess the percentage of patients with Alzheimer’s on whom medication is ineffective? What about those with arthritis? Or cardiac arrhythmia? In fact, you don’t have to guess as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already has the answers: 70%, 50% and 40% respectively. The percentage of patients for whom medications are ineffective range from 38-75% for varying conditions from depression to osteoporosis.  The main cause is because of the very genetic makeup of every individual. The latter is so different and their interaction so unique that therapies for the “average patient” might very well not be adapted to the “actual patient”. Ultimately, patients with the same diagnosis will react differently to the same therapy. The natural question that follows is: isn’t there a method to turn around the treatment process to focus on the actual patient? Well, of course, that will be personalized medicine. It is the principle of revolving healthcare from diagnosis to treatment regimes around a patient tailored to their specific physiology. Forging this principle ahead is the concept of digital twins. It originated from the engineering industry but has found a new home in medicine. Know thy-(digital)-self In simple terms, a digital twin is a virtual copy of a tangible entity (such as vehicle engines or people) or an intangible system (like manufacturing processes or marketing systems) that can be analyzed independently of its real-world count...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Future of Medicine Personalized Medicine digital health technology healthcare data digital twin technology design Source Type: blogs