Understanding the need for digital twins' data in patient advocacy and forecasting oncology.

Journal: Frontiers in artificial intelligence
Published Date:

Abstract

Digital twins are made of a real-world component where data is measured and a virtual component where those measurements are used to parameterize computational models. There is growing interest in applying digital twins-based approaches to optimize personalized treatment plans and improve health outcomes. The integration of artificial intelligence is critical in this process, as it enables the development of sophisticated disease models that can accurately predict patient response to therapeutic interventions. There is a unique and equally important application of AI to the real-world component of a digital twin when it is applied to medical interventions. The patient can only be treated once, and therefore, we must turn to the experience and outcomes of previously treated patients for validation and optimization of the computational predictions. The physical component of a digital twins instead must utilize a compilation of available data from previously treated cancer patients whose characteristics (genetics, tumor type, lifestyle, etc.) closely parallel those of a newly diagnosed cancer patient for the purpose of predicting outcomes, stratifying treatment options, predicting responses to treatment and/or adverse events. These tasks include the development of robust data collection methods, ensuring data availability, creating precise and dependable models, and establishing ethical guidelines for the use and sharing of data. To successfully implement digital twin technology in clinical care, it is crucial to gather data that accurately reflects the variety of diseases and the diversity of the population.

Authors

  • Hung-Ching Chang
    Department of Biostatistics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
  • Antony M Gitau
    Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya.
  • Siri Kothapalli
    Department of Engineering and Computer Science, Baylor University, Waco, TX, United States.
  • Danny R Welch
    Department of Cancer Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, United States.
  • Mihaela E Sardiu
    The University of Kansas Cancer Center, Kansas City, KS, United States.
  • Matthew D McCoy
    Innovation Center for Biomedical Informatics, Department of Oncology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States.

Keywords

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