Unlocking the power of digital twins in personalized healthcare

Chrysanthakopoulou, Dionysia and Koutsojannis, Constantinos (2025) Unlocking the power of digital twins in personalized healthcare. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 25 (2). pp. 1193-1199. ISSN 2581-9615

Digital twins (DTs) emerge as a transformative force within the realm of healthcare, heralding a new era characterized by personalized treatment modalities and enhanced therapeutic efficacy. This review delves into the profound advancements witnessed in DT applications, varying from customization of treatment plans for complex ailments like heart disease and cancer, to optimization of drug discovery processes and rehabilitation protocols. The advent of DTs represents healthcare innovation, offering virtual replicas of patients and anatomical structures that empower clinicians with unprecedented insights and capabilities. These virtual models enable the tailoring of treatment strategies to individual patient profiles, facilitating precise interventions that maximize therapeutic outcomes while minimizing adverse effects. Nevertheless, amidst the promise of DTs lie certain limitations and challenges that warrant meticulous attention. Chief among these, is the imperative for interdisciplinary collaboration across medical, technological, and ethical domains to ensure seamless integration and ethical deployment of DTs in healthcare settings. Robust measures must be instituted to safeguard patient data privacy and uphold ethical principles such as fairness, autonomy, and transparency. Despite these challenges, the transformative potential of DTs in healthcare remains unparalleled. Through virtual organ simulations, personalized medicine initiatives, and the optimization of clinical trials, DTs offer a glimpse into a future, where interventions are truly tailored to the needs of patients. Realizing this potential necessitates concerted efforts to address the identified challenges and pave the way for a future characterized by improved patient outcomes, enhanced decision-making processes, and the realization of personalized medicine.