Faced with the risk of losing lives, hospitals are betting on digital twins

“The information that is being collected helps other conditions to be detected with better precision and earlier, but this has opened a discussion around the privacy and also the security of this type of information, something with which we are empowering “The industry is by generating digital twins, where hackers simulate possible attacks to strengthen the cybersecurity of these institutions,” said Comaniciu.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) points out that as of October 2024, they had 386 cyberattacks on healthcare in the US, ranging from data theft crimes and ransomware attacks against healthcare, to offensives targeting mission-critical third-party providers. .

“Ransomware attacks are not just data theft or financial crimes, they are life-threatening crimes. And they’re not just an IT problem, but a risk to all functions of your company. They are designed to shut down vital systems and cause maximum delay and disruption to patient care. Not only do they threaten the safety of patients in the hospital, but their effects ripple throughout the community and across hospitals, clinics and emergency departments,” says John Riggi, AHA National Cybersecurity and Risk Advisor.

Among the simulations that Comaniciu mentions are the possibility of having a digital twin of a hospital that connects with its ambulance network and where it is possible to simulate routes more effective to respond faster to an emergency, to have simulations of possible system outages, or attacks directed at the different access points of your infrastructure.

“We are talking about critical systems where people’s lives are at risk,” says the Siemens executive.

A report from Markets and Markets indicates that the global digital twins market will grow 61.3% between 2023 and 2028, which represents that it will be able to capture $110.1 billion. And it is not only an option to know how to monitor a hospital’s infrastructure, but also the industry is beginning to promote the use of digital twins of patients.

“Imagine being able to better characterize whether a patient is more prone to having a disease or not and by evaluating a certain diet, reviewing their genetics, age, habits and certain medications, being able to prevent these diseases. This can be done with digital twins,” says Comaniciu.

A recent case about this type of product is that of the former Olympic athlete and winner of the Boston Marathon, Des Linden, who created a virtual replica of her heart to obtain precise data about its functioning, efficiency and response to various conditions to have more information about cardiovascular health during your training. However, the Siemens specialist points out that this type of services will be more common thanks to the widespread use of AI.