The future is bright for healthcare digital twins
During a crisis, digital twin technology enabled rapid response and live testing – at an unprecedented national scale. The feedback loop to app users about their potential exposure to the virus helped them to manage their own risks and behaviours.
At the same time, data from the app – combined with other datasets – informed policy and enabled policymakers to estimate the impact of ‘non-pharmaceutical interventions’ such as lockdown and tiering decisions.
By converting data into actionable knowledge – and providing a means to visualise and monitor that knowledge in real-time – the digital twin enabled senior decision-makers to understand critical issues, including whether specific policy changes were helping to reduce hospital admissions.
The technology was essential for addressing the pandemic's speed, scale, and complexity. Likewise, it will be pivotal in tackling other complex challenges in public health and healthcare systems.
This example shows the vast potential of digital twins in healthcare. They can only succeed with the correct data, however. And this is a considerable challenge given the sensitivity of data in healthcare. But there are solutions to this challenge – from medical-grade apps to full-blown digital health platforms.
If you're interested in learning how a digital twin can be used in healthcare and other industries, get in touch with us today! Together with our clients, we find innovative solutions to complex challenges like COVID-19.