Collection 

Digital twins for precision health

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Open
Submission deadline

A digital twin for precision health is a set of virtual information constructs that mimics the structure, context, and behavior of a human body or health systems (or system-of-systems), is dynamically and continuously updated with data from its physical twin, has a predictive capability, its correctness can be verified and informs decisions that realize value and resemble actionable information to guide health and wellness care delivery. The bidirectional interaction between the virtual and the physical is central to the digital twin. The bidirectional flow of information from the human health system to the computational model affects a twin that remains tightly coupled with the human health system leading to more effective identification of risk factors in the presence of current or future behavior, and/or adverse events. 

[definition adopted from 1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Foundational Research Gaps and Future Directions for Digital Twins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. and 2. AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics). Digital Engineering Integration Committee. 2020. “Digital Twin: Definition & Value.” AIAA and AIA Position Paper, AIAA, Reston, VA.)

Potential topics could include: 
 

  1. Foundations of digital twins for precision health
  2. Novel sensors and models for digital twins
  3. Artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twins
  4. Digital twins for health, including but not limited to: 
  • Cardiovascular Health
  • Mental and Behavioral Health
  • Neurological Disorders and Stroke Prevention
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Diabetes

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good health and wellbeing.

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A woman with her brain being scanned looks at her digital twin

Editors

The Collection will publish original research Articles, Reviews, Perspectives and Comments (full details on content types can be found here). Papers will be published in npj Digital Medicine as soon as they are accepted and then collected together and promoted on the Collection homepage. All Guest Edited Collections are associated with a call for papers and are managed by one or more of our Editorial Board Members and the journal's Editors.

This Collection welcomes submissions from all authors – and not by invitation only – on the condition that the manuscripts fall within the scope of the Collection and of npj Digital Medicine more generally. See our editorial process page for more details. 

All submissions are subject to the same peer review process and editorial standards as regular npj Digital Medicine articles, including the journal’s policy on competing interests. The Guest Editors have no competing interests with the submissions, which they handle through the peer-review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Guest Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests. See our Collections guidelines for more details. 

This Collection is not supported by sponsorship.