What if it were possible to reconstruct an individual brain or other parts of a person's body as a digital model so that they could be used to test clinical therapies virtually? This topic is still in its infancy, but is currently becoming the focus of research - including at Jülich - thanks to ever-advancing digitalization and AI. "Digital twins could be a great help to many people in future," says Prof. Svenja Caspers. "Researchers might, for example, be able to better understand why a certain drug works well for one person but not for another." Digital twins might also help to prevent brain diseases altogether as well as diseases beyond the brain: "Some people smoke and remain healthy for many decades, others do a lot of sport and die of a heart attack at 50," says Caspers. "With a virtual assistant like this, doctors could better recognize which relevant factors are linked in which patients - and then give much better and more individualized advice on which type of prevention measures or therapy is particularly useful for which patients."
"With a digital twin, doctors might in future be able to better recognize which individual prevention measures are particularly important for which patients. This in turn will help to prevent brain diseases in the best case scenario."
Prof. Svenja Caspers
Still a long way to go
According to the 41-year-old, brain pacemakers, which are used to stimulate the brain in patients with Parkinson's disease, for example, might hopefully be better tailored to individual patients in future with a digital twin. At the same time, doctors could simulate in advance the effect of medication on the virtual twin. "If the desired effects are seen on the twin, the medication might also be useful for the patient in question. If not, you immediately look for another treatment option. This is an exciting scenario for future clinical applications."
In addition to huge technical hurdles, there are many other unanswered questions: "What is a good digital twin for what issue? Where are the ethical boundaries?" says Caspers. "Ultimately, the human brain is and remains so complex that it cannot simply be replicated excactly, despite all the available AI. A digital twin will therefore always remain "just" a model - but nevertheless a very helpful one."
Originally published in the employee magazine "intern" of Forschungszentrum Jülich.
Author: Hanno Schiffer
