BARCELONA, Spain, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- A hospital in the Spanish city of Barcelona plans to develop human digital twins to predict disease progression and personalize treatments, in collaboration with leading technology companies, according to a recent statement of the hospital.
Dr. Manel Escobar, clinical director of Diagnostic Radiology at Vall d'Hebron Hospital, said in an interview with Xinhua on Friday that the researchers would use computer to create a digital replica of a human body part -- specifically of an individual with specific medical condition -- and then "use that replica to simulate how the disease might progress."
"We are also able to simulate which treatment would work best for that person, and how their condition would evolve under that treatment," said Escobar.
The digital replicas of organs, systems or biological processes are created with medical images, clinical data and genomic information from individual patients.
According to Escobar, the technology could help doctors manage a wide range of congenital and complex diseases, particularly in cardiology, as well as common conditions such as migraine.
The project is funded with 11.7 million euros (13 million U.S. dollars) from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Over the next three years, hospital specialists and technology partners will develop advanced computational models for various medical and surgical specialties, with the aim of bringing the technology closer to clinical practice.
