The Digital Twin technology allows operators to have a virtual model of a physical asset, to forecast behaviours of assets, design probable adaptation, and suggest actions. It adds excellent panoramas about asset development, their interaction, the core for cooperation throughout the Supply Chain (SC) processes.
The Digital Twin too is currently supporting remote work while on social distance. Detailed and dynamic simulations enhance visualisation, better interoperability and IoT sensors, as well as software and platforms. It is modelling everything from advance projects to daily work thanks to the way it has to act on data in real-time whilst highlighting integration, key for success.
A complete view into the greater scenario
Digital Twin tech engenders virtual replicas of physical devices or situations simulating previous processes or circumstances, to empowering corporations into a smart digital transformation. As long as leaders have the big-picture of the environment, global governments could make a knowledgeable-wide-ranging assessment in real-time.
Why does it matter to Health?
Digital Twin reduce the burden on governments and National Health Services (NHS) during COVID-19 outbreak, offering a seamless solution to provide the best condition of vital-care-beds availability. It can add up-to-the-minute sources of data for test results, ventilator employment and patient management; hospital directors can synchronise supplies in the vicinity, at the same time as physician and health workers can concentrate all their efforts on those experiencing a health crisis.
Digital Twin on crisis
The Nordic countries went on a collective data-driven approach in August 2019, when Health spokespersons from each country deliberated on the influence of a possible crisis in their health system. Through the Digital Twin tools, they could connect disorganised data jammed in several silos and make it viable to the whole COVID-19 in-charge-network (hospitals and people at local and national levels) to fast-track the setting out of this smart tool.
The initial Nordic quick response was due to a joint commitment to digital innovation to integrate data and find better solutions as a community. All of the participants determined there would be a ‘new normal’ following this catastrophe, with assimilated digital healthcare such as the Digital Twin approach, having proved its power.
The importance of planning in advance
Sweden approach was the creation of specialised-platforms centred on how digital tools make available information and be of service to remote working. A simple COVID-19 self-assessment tool was developed, which notably lessened stress on the national telephone-advice service. These platforms were already using primary care services and increased-video visits. They launched an extra online-consulting service, which links hospitals and care-services experts.
Sweden avoided total lockdown, but encourage people to stay at home following strong recommendations voluntarily and vote for a social responsibility but at the end these protocols failed. a digital life routine was the solution as they can visit healthcare and public services online. At the end, these protocols failed as government never closed schools or social places.
For many years Denmark counted on telemedicine that includes appointment tools, online consulting within its healthcare processes, fully accomplished few weeks before the outbreak of COVID; they were counting on appropriate infrastructure, so their response was fast and easily carried out.
Iceland implemented strict preventive measures such as extensive testing, tracking, and social distance to avoid “stay-at-home” restrictions. A clinical portal using current IT infrastructure support the implementation of tested for COVID. With this approach, Iceland stopped contagious cases and have stopped casualties to zero.
Several things made the difference: the large testing campaign, the strong IT support they count on, and the opportunity to act rapidly and the best-flexible approaches because Electronic Health Record (HER) tools were already in place. Iceland could handle all patients as considered, with no blockages in the healthcare system.
Finland was already applying Digital healthcare tools, including digital prescriptions, and managing national electronic health records. It put Finland in a position to respond quickly to the crisis whilst considering the situation other European countries were experiencing. They initiated a successful-online-symptom checker to face COVID-19 and an educational program only in six-day, to get measurements on symptoms, and to throw out all data from several resources.
Constraints on enough Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) made Norway strengthen collaborative work among private industries and the public healthcare system; therefore, they were able to address the need of PPE in the short, medium and long-terms requirements.
So far, all stakeholders in the region recognise the benefit of joining efforts to respond and work in coordination with the public authorities and organisations involved, maintaining the trust as a group now and hopefully after overcoming the crisis, to moving forwards adapting the “new present” by embracing Digital Twin. Now is the time!
The most significant learning of the crisis is that you can do things fast and efficiently. We will need to review the setup and restructure part of our infrastructure so to make it sustainable; plus enhancing ethical discussions to go over the pandemic.
Further comments: extend the use of Digital Twin and take advantage of its benefits in health issues and the SC as a whole. Let’s generate a balance around family wellness, avoiding hospital overload and deaths to protect public health. The responsibility of the „new norm” is for all us. Are you ready to live along with COVID-19?
David Food is the Strategy Director of Prophetic Technology. He brings a significant breadth of skill, innovation and capability in the use of software and technology to improve supply chains, develop marketing and unlock business potential, whether globally or locally, with collaborative or enterprise-wide solutions.