Newsroom
In a new research brief, RTI researchers explore how digital twins can help forecast disease spread and improve public health response
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Advances in digital twin technology are enabling researchers to better understand how environmental conditions affect human health, according to a new research brief from RTI International, an independent scientific research institute.
The study highlights how virtual models that simulate real-world systems, referred to as smart city digital twins (SCDTs) and human digital twins (HDTs), can be combined to forecast and mitigate the spread of vector-borne and environmentally driven diseases. These models integrate data from Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, wearable devices, and mobile technologies to simulate how people interact with their surroundings and respond to environmental stressors.
“Digital twins allow us to simulate complex interactions between people and their environments in real time,” said lead author Meghan Hegarty-Craver. Ph.D., a biomedical research engineer at RTI. “By combining smart city and human digital twin technologies, we can better predict disease outbreaks and allocate resources more effectively.”
The brief outlines how SCDTs have been used to model urban heat islands, air pollution, and water accumulation, all factors that influence mosquito populations and the spread of diseases such as West Nile virus and Dengue fever. Meanwhile, HDTs use data from wearables to monitor physiological changes that may signal early infection, such as elevated heart rate or reduced heart rate variability.
RTI researchers also emphasize the potential of digital twins in agricultural settings, where IoT sensors and drone imagery are already in use and could be further integrated to monitor the health of livestock.
Despite the promise of digital twins, the brief identifies several challenges to widespread adoption, including the need for standardized data formats and secure data sharing protocols that comply with regulations such as HIPAA and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The brief was published by RTI Press, a global publisher of peer-reviewed, open-access publications.
Read the full brief
RTI International is an independent scientific research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. Our vision is to address the world's most critical problems with technical and science-based solutions in pursuit of a better future. Clients rely on us to answer questions that demand an objective and multidisciplinary approach—one that integrates expertise across social, statistical, data, and laboratory sciences, engineering, and other technical disciplines to solve the world’s most challenging problems.
For more information, visit www.rti.org.