EDITH
European Virtual Human Twin
Objectives
ECOSYSTEM
EDITH has the objective to frame an inclusive ecosystem of digital twins in healthcare within the EU Member States and associated countries. It will start with a comprehensive mapping of the existing relevant actors, initiatives, resources (i.e., models, data sets, methods, good practices, infrastructures, solutions, services), and barriers in the digital twins. This will ensure adequate clinical representation, while fostering collaboration and integration of all relevant stakeholders, such as solution developers, technology providers, infrastructure providers, end-users (healthcare professionals and patients), regulatory agencies, and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) bodies.
ROADMAP
EDITH has the objective to build a roadmap with all the necessary conditions to evolve towards an integrated Virtual Human Twin (VHT). The roadmap will identify the necessary building blocks to ensure the VHT’s clinical application and formulate clear short- and mid-term policy recommendations. It will also address aspects of interoperability, computability, health information integration from various sources. It will identify any possible implementation needs and barriers, including the development of a strategic approach for clinical deployment of the VHT model. This will foster the uptake of personalised clinical decision-making, with a particular focus on areas of unmet medical needs.
REPOSITORY
EDITH has the objective to develop a federated and cloud-based repository of digital twins (data, models, algorithms, and good practices) in healthcare. The repository will provide a virtual collaboration environment for multiple users and organisations, that will pool together existing digital twin resources across Europe. The ecosystem will be leveraged to create a repository catalogue with available resources and recruit resources into the repository from the consortium and external contributors. Through a federated approach, links will be established with ongoing initiatives that have complementary objectives.
SIMULATION PLATFORM
EDITH has the objective to develop the architecture of a simulation platform that will support the transition towards an integrated Virtual Human Twin (VHT). EDITH’s platform, based on a personal user account with specific permissions, will outline how to provide users with a one-stop shop to design, develop, test, and validate single organ digital twins, and combine them with other twins to build integrated VHT models. Five use-cases (cancer, cardiovascular, intensive care, osteoporosis, brain) have been pre-selected to be developed as prototypes, representing the variety of functionalities to be provided by the platform.