We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App




Events

ATTENTION: Due to the COVID-19 PANDEMIC, many events are being rescheduled for a later date, converted into virtual venues, or altogether cancelled. Please check with the event organizer or website prior to planning for any forthcoming event.

Digital Avatar Helps Plan Personalized Therapies

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 23 Jul 2019
Print article
Image: Research suggests virtual manikin avatars could help plan medical treatments (Photo courtesy of Empa).
Image: Research suggests virtual manikin avatars could help plan medical treatments (Photo courtesy of Empa).
A virtual doppelganger that is programmed with a patient’s physiological data could aid in providing a personalized prognosis of treatment.

Under development at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa; Dübendorf, Switzerland), the digital twin represents a complex multi-physical skin model fed with data from non-invasive sensor systems attached to the human skin. The ostensible transdermal manikin and a linked-up computer model are then used to simulate human physiological responses to drugs and medicines, such as changes in skin temperature or perspiration rate, which can then be analyzed in order to enable precise and personalized dosage of the active agents.

The computer modeling of the digital doppelganger also factors in a patient’s skin characteristics. For example, the active agent will be absorbed differently depending on where the plaster is attached to the body, or whether the drug is administered to a sun-tanned athlete, an elderly lady with pale, papery skin, or a soft-skinned newborn. Drug dosage can thus be controlled precisely thanks to a tailored, time-dependent rate of expulsion. In the future, the manikins system will be used to set up the considerably more complex digital human doppelgangers, which are governed by a larger number of variables. The avatar was described on July 3, 2019, in CQFD.

“In medicine, people dream of complete in silico doppelgangers, which predict how a person will age or how an artificial joint will wear in the body. Using an in silico doppelganger, we’re able to respond to individual patients much more precisely,” said Professor Thijs Defraeye, PhD, of the Empa Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles lab. “As an extra benefit, we expect to be able to reduce the dosage (of painkillers, for instance) to such an extent that the patient is supplied with just the right amount.”

Related Links:
Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology

Gold Supplier
SARS‑CoV‑2/Flu A/Flu B/RSV Sample-To-Answer Test
SARS‑CoV‑2/Flu A/Flu B/RSV Cartridge (CE-IVD)
New
Syringe Pump
SP950
New
MEG System
Orion LifeSpan
New
Silver Supplier
6880
Chair Scale

Print article
Radcal

Channels

Critical Care

view channel
Image: An earbud prototype that has been wired for data collection (Photo courtesy of MUSC)

Earbuds to Outperform Smartwatches in Monitoring Blood Pressure

While blood pressure cuffs are considered the most accurate method of measurement, they require the user to sit down, put on the cuff, and stay still. This can be inconvenient and may lead to errors in... Read more

Surgical Techniques

view channel
Image: New robust thermosensitive bioadhesives can improve surgical sealing (Photo courtesy of Pexels)

New Surgical Sealing Biomaterial Could Eliminate Standard Methods of Suturing and Stapling

For surgical wounds to be properly closed, the sealant material used must effectively seal on wet, slippery tissue surfaces that vary in shape and may involve tissue movement, such as an expanding lung,... Read more

Business

view channel
Image: The demand for endometrial ablation devices is increasing due to rising prevalence of gynecological disorders (Photo courtesy of Pexels)

Global Endometrial Ablation Market Driven by Rising Prevalence of Gynecological Disorders

Gynecological disorders, such as menorrhagia, PCOD, abnormal vaginal bleeding, affect millions of women globally every year and are on the rise. Abnormal Uterine Bleeding (AUB) is the most common disorder... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2023 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.