Latest news with #KRBalakrishnan
Time of India
2 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Digital twin tech to transform surgical decisions, personalised healthcare: Doc
1 2 Lucknow: Imagine the freedom to choose a line of treatment best suited for oneself or a dear one. This thought can become a reality with the use of digital twin technology in healthcare. Using artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, a digital twin creates virtual representative of a patient. It uses their diagnostic reports and images to provide personalised treatment modalities and predict outcomes. The possibility of using this technology in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery (CVTS) was demonstrated on Saturday at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences by Prof KR Balakrishnan, a cardiothoracic and heart transplant surgeon, who has worked closely with IIT-Chennai. "A patient with a cardiac condition visits four cardiac specialists who genuinely suggest different treatment options to him. But can anyone predict which option is most suitable for the patient," he asked the audience during the 3rd Prof PK Ghosh Memorial Oration, organised on the 38th foundation day of SGPGI's CVTS department. "Technology has made a definitive reply possible. Through digital twin technology, we can use the patient's hemodynamic parameters (measurable characteristics of blood flow and pressure within the circulatory system) to simulate a post-procedure comparison for all four options. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Naturally, it is easy to pinpoint the least risky and most promising one," he said. Informing that the technology allows the use of real-time data of the patient through sensors, medical devices, and electronic health records, he noted: "These digital models allow for simulation, prediction, and optimisation of health outcomes or operational processes within the healthcare environment. It is possible to use them to extend what is known as precision medical care." "Technology can help in reducing the scope for human errors in surgery, deliver better outcomes, and save time, labour, and even money for the system and the people," he said. On the cost-effectiveness of digital technologies in healthcare, he said, "We used a free resource to develop our models. But what needs to be done is to promote interdisciplinary research. It is high time we stopped keeping engineers and doctors in different silos and help them collaborate for larger patient and public interest." 'Digital twin can greatly benefit UP' Prof Balakrishnan said that AI-based digital twin technologies, which could be used across a diverse palette of healthcare including cancer and maternal health, had immense possibilities in a state like UP where health challenges are bigger because of high population. "The shortage of doctors is a reality that needs a mammoth effort to be dealt with. Doctors even in tertiary care institutes are attending to 300 patients in four hours. Can a specialist do justice to each one of them? It is here that technology like digital twin can help in weeding out extra load of doctors so that they can extend specialised care to those genuinely in need of it," he said.
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
What if doctors could practise your surgery on a virtual YOU first? Welcome to the future of Indian healthcare
Imagine practising a surgery on a virtual version of your body before doctors operate on the real you. That's not science fiction anymore; it's happening in India. As quoted by TOI, senior heart transplant surgeon Dr K R Balakrishnan now makes a stop at IIT Madras before performing surgeries on complicated heart patients. At the biomedical engineering lab, he works on 3D virtual versions of his patients, also called digital twins. These twins help the doctor and his team analyse blood vessels, muscles and more before deciding the best course of treatment. What Exactly Is a Digital Twin? A digital twin is a computer-based copy of a real-world object or human. It receives real-time data from its original source, helping doctors make accurate medical decisions. The concept first appeared in aerospace engineering, but now it's being used in hospitals too. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Top 5 Dividend Stocks for May 2025 Seeking Alpha Read Now Using sensors and medical test results, doctors can create a virtual model of a patient and try out different surgeries or treatments before doing anything to the actual patient. Digital Twins at IIT Madras Professor R Krishnakumar, who used to design digital twins for tyre companies, now heads the biomedical engineering lab at IIT-M. Quoted by TOI, he said, 'Give us the medical records of a patient, and his digital twin will be ready in 45 minutes. An hour later, doctors can test treatment options on this synthetic patient.' Live Events Sometimes, doctors don't need a full 3D model, a simple graph can help them decide if the patient needs a life-saving device like an intra-aortic balloon pump. According to Krishnakumar, 'Nine times out of ten, the system's decision has been right.' How Surgeons Use Digital Twins Surgeons at JIPMER (Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research) in Puducherry are also working with digital twins. They've created 3D models of the brain to plan surgeries for deep-seated tumours. Neurosurgeon Dr M S Gopalakrishnan, quoted by TOI, said, 'We rehearse surgeries virtually and choose the safest and most effective method before operating.' These rehearsals are done using virtual reality (VR), which helps doctors practise every move and avoid risky areas. Once the plan is ready, it's loaded into a computer-guided system that helps during the real surgery by overlaying the virtual route onto the real-time view of the brain using augmented reality (AR). What's Next in Digital Twin Tech? According to Dr Gopalakrishnan, the next step is for digital twins to give feedback during live surgery. 'If I move a patient's brain lobe in the operating room, the virtual twin should tell me what could happen next,' he said. This level of smart interaction may soon be possible using Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINN). These allow the twins to be smarter and more accurate, even when data is limited or biological processes are complex. Beyond Surgery: Managing Chronic Illnesses Digital twins aren't just for surgery. In cancer care, doctors use them to test treatments and reduce side effects. In diabetes, they help track sugar levels and suggest lifestyle changes that can even reverse the disease. Dr Arjun Suresh, a general medicine expert, quoted by TOI, said, 'Right now, we treat sugar levels reactively. With digital twins and real-time data from glucose monitors, we can be proactive.' A team led by Dr Rajan Ravichandran is also working on using digital twins to predict kidney problems in diabetic patients. A New Era of Drug Discovery Digital twins are also helping in drug development. They make it possible to run virtual clinical trials and test drug reactions without using real humans. This saves time and money. Some Challenges Still Remain Though the technology is promising, doctors admit it's not perfect. Dr Balakrishnan said, 'There are still issues with data quality, how we use the models, and training people to use them well. Plus, there are ethical concerns about how much influence these tools should have on treatment decisions.' Still, as digital twins grow smarter and more accessible, they may become a routine part of treatment, guiding doctors, saving lives, and making medicine more precise than ever before. Inputs from TOI
