The Role of Digital Twin in Healthcare: Virtual Patient Models & Beyond

Anuj Abhiwan
4 days ago
5 min read

Updated: 4 hours ago

Technology is growing fast in many industries. One of the most effective industries is healthcare, which uses advanced technologies that help doctors, hospitals and patients. One of the most popular technologies is the digital twin in healthcare. Not only in healthcare, but it is also used in many industries. This technology creates virtual models of patients, organs, and hospitals. These virtual models will help doctors to predict problems, treatments and personalised care. We’ll know about the detailed information of it, how it works in healthcare, challenges, and opportunities.

What is Digital Twin?

The digital twin is a virtual copy of the real objects that are computer-made versions. It works as a real object. They look, behave, and react like real objects. If the patient’s heart rate changes, the digital twin helps to show how the body might react, which will help Doctors to test treatments safely.

When entering digital twin in healthcare industry, it can be a copy of:

The human body or organs,
Hospitals or machines,
Treatment or medical process.

The Virtual Patient Models

The virtual patient model is the most important use of digital twin applications in the healthcare industry. These models are like virtual humans.

These help in

Medical history.
Scans such as an MRI and a CT scan
Genetics disease
Lifestyle habits
Realtime data

Through these data, doctors can do many things, like treatments, predictions, and tracking diseases.

Predict how the patient responds to the drug
Track disease
Plan surgery with accuracy
Treatment without any risks.

For example, a patient survives heart disease, and a digital twin in healthcare shows how it pumps blood. A doctor can give treatment accordingly.

How to create a Digital Twin?

Digital Twin has many steps, such as purpose, modelling, installation and many more.

Here is the complete information:

Define the purpose
Create the virtual model
Install IoT sensors.
Connect IoT to the cloud.
Link real-time data.
Analytics for AI
Monitoring and optimize

Stage	Details	Tools/Technologies
Define Objectives	Identify the purpose: monitoring, simulation, optimisation, or predictive maintenance.	Business Analysis Tools
Select Physical Asset/System	Choose the real-world asset (e.g., machine, building, vehicle) to model.	Asset Management Tools
Instrument with Sensors	Attach IoT sensors to collect real-time data such as temperature, vibration, pressure, etc.	IoT devices (e.g., Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Siemens)
Data Acquisition	Collect and transmit data from the physical asset to a centralised platform.	MQTT, OPC-UA, AWS IoT, Azure IoT Hub
Data Integration	Integrate sensor data with enterprise systems (ERP, MES, CRM).	APIs, Middleware, Integration Platforms (MuleSoft, Zapier)
Create 3D/2D Model	Build a virtual representation (CAD or real-time 3D model).	Unity, Blender, AutoCAD, Unreal Engine
Build Simulation Model	Simulate behaviour using mathematical or physics-based models (digital logic, AI, ML).	MATLAB, Ansys, Simulink, Python + TensorFlow/PyTorch
Link Physical & Digital	Map real-time sensor data to the virtual model for mirroring and analysis.	Digital Twin Platforms (Azure Digital Twin, Siemens NX)
Enable Real-Time Monitoring	Provide live dashboards for visualisation, monitoring KPIs, and health status.	Power BI, Grafana, Tableau
Apply Analytics/AI/ML	Use historical + real-time data to predict failures, optimise performance, and prescribe actions.	Python, R, Azure ML, AWS SageMaker
User Interface	Develop a front-end dashboard for interaction and control.	Web (React, Angular), Mobile (Flutter, Swift)
Test & Validate	Compare Digital Twin results with real-world outcomes to calibrate models.	Simulation Validation Tools
Deploy & Maintain	Deploy the system, monitor performance, and refine models based on new data.	DevOps, CI/CD Tools, Cloud Services

Benefits of Digital Twins in Healthcare

The digital twin in healthcare has some major benefits, such as personalised treatment, better surgeries, disease prevention and monitoring.

Here are the detailed benefits of the digital twin:

Personalised Treatment

Doctors offer treatment according to your body and the disease. It helps them to see how the body reacts after the treatment.

Better Surgeries

Surgeons are using the digital twin for practising before the operations. This will help to make the surgery successful and faster.

Disease Prevention

The Digital Twin in Healthcare will help to diagnose the disease early which will help to treat the disease before it gets serious.

Remote Monitoring

The wearable devices and twins help to monitor every disease.

Training for Doctors

Medical students receive training on virtual models of patients that prevent real-life risk.

Digital Twins of Organs

Digital twin is not made for a single organ or any treatment. These models are used by AI , which makes twins smart.

They are made for many organs that will help with treating multiple diseases:

Heart twin is used to study blood flow, blockages and planning of heart surgeries.
Lung CT is used to diagnose lung diseases like asthma and COVID-19.
Brain twin is used for epilepsy, brain tumours or planning neurosurgeries.

Digital Twins of Hospitals

The Digital twin is not only for doctors or patients but also for hospitals. They can be used in emergencies to store data on patients.

The entire hospital management needs these twins for:

Bed availability
Staff scheduling
Equipment use
Emergency response planning.

What is a Digital Twin in healthcare?

As mentioned above, you know about the digital twin in the healthcare industry.

Here you can learn everything in a summarised form:

Aspect	Details
Definition	A Digital Twin in healthcare is a virtual model of a patient, organ, device, or healthcare system that mirrors its real-world counterpart using real-time data.
Purpose	To simulate, predict, and optimise health outcomes and medical procedures.
Data Sources	Electronic health records (EHRs), medical imaging, wearable devices, lab results, and genetic data.
Types	1. Patient Digital Twin – a personalised care model of an individual. 2. Device Digital Twin – Tracks and predicts the performance of medical devices. 3. Hospital/Workflow Twin – Optimises hospital operations.
Applications	Personalised treatment planning Surgery simulations Chronic disease management Drug response modelling Hospital logistics and resource management
TechnologiesUsed	AI IoT, machine learning, cloud computing, big data, sensors, digital imaging
Benefits	Improved diagnosis accuracy Customised treatment plans Predictive analytics Reduced costs Enhanced patient safety and care quality
Example Use Cases	A Heart Digital Twin Predicting Arrhythmia Risk A virtual ICU model optimising staff allocation A digital twin of a cancer patient simulating drug response
Challenges	Data privacy and security Integration with legacy systems High cost of implementation Regulatory compliance (e.g., HIPAA, GDPR)

Digital Twin Companies in India

Many companies in India, like TCS, L&T Technology, Tech Mahindra and Abhiwan Technology, are top digital twin service providers.

Here is the top list of the digital twin companies in India:

Company Name	Headquarters	Key Services	Industries Served
Tata Consultancy Services	Mumbai	Digital twin platforms, IoT integration, and analytics	Manufacturing, Healthcare, Utilities
L&T Technology Services	Vadodara	Digital twins for industrial plants, smart buildings, and aerospace	Oil & Gas, Automotive, Aerospace, Industrial
Abhiwan Technology	Noida, Delhi NCR	Digital twin development, metaverse, AR/VR, AI, blockchain	Real Estate, Retail, Gaming, Smart Infrastructure
Infosys	Bengaluru	Engineering services, AI-driven digital twins	Energy, Utilities, Telecom, Manufacturing
Tech Mahindra	Pune	AI + IoT + digital twin solutions, predictive analytics	Automotive, Healthcare, Industrial, Telecom
Siemens India	Mumbai	Digital twin software (Simcenter, Teamcenter), simulation tools	Industrial Automation, Railways, Smart Cities
GE Digital	Bengaluru	Predix platform for digital twins, asset performance management	Power, Aviation, Manufacturing
Bosch EngineeringIndia	Bengaluru	Digital twin for connected mobility, predictive maintenance	Automotive, Manufacturing, Smart Devices
Tata Elxsi	Bengaluru	Digital twins for smart mobility and simulation environments	Automotive, Aerospace, Consumer Electronics
Dassault Systèmes India	Pune	3DEXPERIENCE platform, virtual twin experiences	Aerospace, Life Sciences, Industrial Equipment
HCLTech	Noida	Digital twin & IoT integration, asset monitoring	Smart Manufacturing, Energy, Infrastructure
Cyient	Hyderabad	Digital twin modelling, simulation, and engineering design	Aerospace, Rail, Utilities, Telecommunications
Altair Engineering India	Bengaluru	Physics-based digital twins, simulation software (HyperWorks)	Engineering, Automotive, Aerospace
EInfochips	Ahmedabad	Digital twins, edge computing, and remote monitoring	Healthcare, Industrial, Automotive

Conclusion

The Digital twin in healthcare is best for planning and tracking the data of the healthcare process. In the future, the use of digital twin applications will be growing. The technologies will help understand medication and treatments, and keep people healthy. From virtual patients to hospital management, the technology will help from every perspective. The technologies have many obstructions, such as cost, privacy, and lack of standards. Beyond these hurdles, the healthcare industry is still smarter, faster, and safer with the help of these technologies.