Revolutionizing Heart Care: How Artificial Intelligence Powered Digital Twins Are Shaping the Future of Medicine
A groundbreaking scientific milestone has been reached with the creation of thousands of highly detailed, patient-specific digital heart models — the largest ever assembled — offering unprecedented insights into how heart disease varies by age, sex, and lifestyle. This cutting-edge research, blending machine learning, clinical imaging, and advanced mathematical modeling, is poised to transform personalized healthcare.
Steven Niederer, chair of biomedical engineering at Imperial College London and senior author of the study, explained how this approach borrows concepts from automotive and aerospace engineering.
“We’re using mathematical models, like those designed for cars or airplanes, to predict how the human heart performs under different conditions,” he said.
At the core of the project lies AI-powered automation, which segments medical scans to accurately map heart structures. These data are used to build 3D “digital twins” — intricate virtual models that simulate a patient’s heart function in detail, enabling precise predictions of responses to stress or treatments.
However, running such complex simulations requires enormous computational power, often relying on supercomputers for hours. To overcome this, the team is training AI to approximate these simulations rapidly and cost-effectively, enabling faster, personalized modeling.
Challenging Medical Norms
One striking finding challenges long-held assumptions about gender differences in heart function. While Electrocardiograms (ECGs) traditionally show differences between men and women, the digital twin data reveal that these disparities stem mainly from anatomical size rather than functional differences. Niederer noted, “This insight could reshape how we diagnose heart conditions across sexes and help address the historic under-representation of women in clinical trials.”
The models also offer a pathway to understanding how therapies might work in under-represented groups, aiming for fairer, more generalizable care.
From Lab to Clinic
Although still in development, this technology is already being integrated into clinical workflows in collaboration with hospitals in Nottingham and Sheffield, supported by The Alan Turing Institute. The team is creating cloud-based software to seamlessly build digital twins from hospital imaging data and deliver them back to clinicians, bridging research and real-world patient care.
Currently aiding heart procedure planning, future advancements could see continuous updates powered by implantable sensors tracking real-time heart data, turning digital twins into “living” models for ongoing monitoring and forecasting.
Humanizing Technology
Despite its technical sophistication, the project remains deeply rooted in patient care. Cristobal Rodero Gomez of Imperial’s National Heart and Lung Institute emphasized the importance of aligning technology with human needs, noting that patient engagement keeps the project focused on its ultimate purpose — helping people.
A particularly tangible outcome is the production of 3D-printed hearts from digital models, which serve as valuable tools for patient communication, education, and surgical planning.
Niederer remarked, “Holding a physical heart model helps people connect with what can otherwise feel like abstract computational data.”
Looking Ahead
Building on their success in cardiology, the researchers are partnering with Cancer Research UK to apply digital twin technology to brain tumors, aiming to improve treatment precision.
Ultimately, the vision is to create comprehensive, whole-body digital twins — dynamic, predictive tools that will revolutionize personalized medicine across multiple health domains, bringing a new era of data-driven, patient-centered care.
Hong Kong on Saturday mourned the 128 people known to have died in a massive fire at a high-rise apartment complex, a toll that is likely to rise with...
The global recall of Airbus A320 aircraft has triggered widespread disruption across several major airlines, forcing flight cancellations in the Unite...
U.S. investigators have recovered the black box recorders from the wreckage of a UPS cargo plane that crashed in flames on takeoff in Louisville, Kent...
Pope Leo visited Istanbul’s Blue Mosque on Saturday, stepping inside one of the most iconic sites of the Muslim world. He removed his shoes at the e...
Russian drones and missiles struck several districts of Kyiv early on Saturday, killing one person and injuring more than a dozen. Fires swept through...
Hong Kong on Saturday mourned the 128 people known to have died in a massive fire at a high-rise apartment complex, a toll that is likely to rise with 150 still missing days after the disaster.
The global recall of Airbus A320 aircraft has triggered widespread disruption across several major airlines, forcing flight cancellations in the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
U.S. investigators have recovered the black box recorders from the wreckage of a UPS cargo plane that crashed in flames on takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky. At least twelve people died. The crash sent a wall of fire into an industrial corridor and forced the shutdown of the airport.
Pope Leo visited Istanbul’s Blue Mosque on Saturday, stepping inside one of the most iconic sites of the Muslim world. He removed his shoes at the entrance in a gesture of respect. He did not appear to pray.
At least 47 people have died and another 21 are reported missing following ten days of heavy rainfall, floods, and landslides across Sri Lanka, local media reported on Thursday (27 November).
Hong Kong fire authorities said they expected to wrap up search and rescue operations on Friday after the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years tore through a massive apartment complex, killing at least 128 people, injuring 79 and leaving around 200 still missing.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited sailors aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier in the Latin American region on Thursday, amid a military buildup by President Donald Trump’s administration that has heightened tensions with Venezuela.
Rescuers in Sri Lanka are racing against rising floodwaters and treacherous terrain today after a powerful storm system slammed into the island nation, killing at least 46 people and displacing tens of thousands in a disaster that threatens to strain the country’s resources.
The Spanish agricultural sector has been placed on high alert following the confirmation that African Swine Fever (ASF) has resurfaced in the country for the first time in over thirty years.
The Spanish agricultural sector has been placed on high alert following the confirmation that African Swine Fever (ASF) has resurfaced in the country for the first time in over thirty years.
French health experts are warning that the highly pathogenic H5 strain of bird flu, already devastating wild and farm animals, could evolve into a virus capable of human-to-human transmission — potentially sparking a pandemic worse than COVID-19.
China has overtaken the United States in the volume of medical research it publishes, showing a major shift in global scientific influence, according to the chief editorial leadership of Swiss-based scientific publisher Frontiers.
A recent study shows that women face a higher risk of job loss due to artificial intelligence (AI) and are 20% less likely than men to use generative AI tools, reducing their chances of working in AI-reliant roles.
There are 29 confirmed cases of the mpox virus in Portugal according to local authorities, which reported in the past three months that there were 10 people in August, three in September, and 16 others in October.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment