Digital Twin Skeletons Solve Real-World Health Problems

Digital shadow selves could save lives.

STARTER STATS

• More than 2.5 million Canadians over the age of 40 live with osteoporosis

• Osteoporosis causes 80% of all fractures in people over age 50

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Using advanced computational modelling, researchers at the University of Alberta are building 'digital twins' of bones. These virtual bone systems behave like real bone tissue, allowing the team to explore how bone functions and fails, and how interventions work. By modelling processes that can take months or even years to manifest, the simulations promise to accelerate the study of bone disease.

The resulting experimental data will support applications ranging from human and animal health studies to research on bone loss during spaceflight. Multiple scales are supported, like cellular mineral deposition and whole-organ behaviour, enabling a deeper understanding of how small changes translate into larger health outcomes.

Digital twins can reliably predict individual bone responses to therapy or mechanical loading, thereby supporting the treatment of conditions like osteoporosis and tooth disease. This way, clinicians could customize treatments rather than rely on one-size-fits-all approaches, and reduce the cost and time of physical trials.

“Digital twinning allows you to build different scale models to compare how something looks at very early stages versus very late stages, exploring how the processes are connected and how they co-ordinate with each other.”

— Dr. Svetlana Komarova

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