A human digital twin—
what is it?
A "digital twin" is a digital version of a physical product, like a jet engine. The digital twin is used to predict the product’s performance in various environments. Recently, this idea has been applied to humans in areas like medicine, sports and ergonomics. However, humans, unlike jet engines, are more than the sum of their parts. We as humans have thoughts, feelings and experiences that shape how we respond to different environments. For example, while some people may feel exhausted after a run, others may find running to be energizing. This complicates how we can accurately model a digital version of a human, and we feel that we must start with an environment that can be well controlled both in absolute terms (e.g. a set amount of effort) and in relative terms (e.g., a percentage of a person’s maximum capacity).
Why do we want to create human digital twins?
With an increased focus on personalization, the success of this study could help change how we approach human health. If successful, we may be able to adapt the digital twin to other interventions such as drug discovery, mental health, nutrition, athletic performance and chronic disease management to make treatments more successful and reduce side effects. The human digital twin models would allow for better decision-making by both clinicians and non-clinicians to improve health.
Who is working on this challenge?
We are a group of researchers from industry and universities worldwide. We are psychologists, exercise physiologists, exercise psychologists, biostatisticians, biomechanists, computer scientists, electrical engineers, nutritionists, biochemists and biomedical engineers. We are all dedicated to trying to help as many people as we can and ensure that we can figure out a way to personalize care.