Virtual Humans Assist In Mapping The Future Of Major Surgery

The technological advancement has reached a stage where before performing any risky surgery, first the exact procedure is applied to virtual humans clone of the patient that will provide firsthand knowledge regarding the metabolism and reaction of the patient against the surgical procedure and allow the doctors to be ready for any complication that may arise before the surgical procedure is applied on the real patient. The virtual human body will be kind of a digital doppelganger that would completely mirror the vital information of the patient down to a DNA coding level. This technical improvement in the modern era would help reduce the risk of life-threatening complications before surgery, along with any unexpected shock.

The digital doppelganger is made by the CompBioMed Centre of Excellence that has been funded by the European Union and is being led by Professor Peter Coveney at the University College, London. According to him, having virtual humans could help save countless lives that are lost due to an unexpected issue during the surgery. By having a digital doppelganger, all potential complications could be easily predicted before they occur and could be safely managed during the surgical procedure.

Virtual working of vital organs

The project of developing virtual humans relates organ-specific data by using X-rays, CAT, and MRI scans along with the patient’s genetic information and other data, which helps in creating a completely personalized digitalized avatar. All the combined data helps the formation of a virtual body of an individual. By using specialized software, continuous moving organs like the heart are brought to life virtually.

By using a virtual heart, all personal details can be looked at. Before moving forward with the surgery, possible complications like myocardial infarction and arrhythmia can be predicted in virtual humans, by which the surgeon will be able to pre-plan the operation and minimize any adverse effects during the medical procedure.

Developing a virtual human is a complicated procedure due to the complex nature of a human body and requires immense computational power. There are several cutting-edge simulations of virtual humans that are being conducted at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre of Bavarian Academy of Sciences. The computing device which is being used during the simulation is the Super MUC-NG, which is the most powerful supercomputer by Germany. In the making of digitalized virtual humans, exceedingly large amount of data is involved

Generally, supercomputers are used for large scale simulations and modeling. The supercomputer which is being used for virtual humans is very advanced, and this technology will be used for everyday usage in tablets and smartphones after 15 to 20 years.

Potential issues identification

The flow of Red Blood Corpuscles (RBC) inside our blood vessels is one of the bodily functions that the researchers and scientists are able to virtualize by using supercomputer simulations. By using highly complex software, potential issues can be easily identified, including atherosclerosis, i.e., arterial constriction due to cholesterol deposits around the walls. Usage of virtual humans has the goal of tackling the health conditions of humans that include COVID-19, cancerous cell identification, and other dangerous health problems. Having a digitalized doppelganger will also help individuals form a positive and healthy impact on lifestyle.

The team, which is working over the virtual humans project is confident that their aim for the formation of a virtual doppelganger and bringing a complete working virtual humans will help motivate the upcoming scientists to aim farther in the further. This supercomputer will be potentially used before performing any major surgery that might turn into unexpected results for predicting all potential compilations during a surgical operation, i.e., coma, hypoxia, and heart attack.

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