Researchers at the University of Galway and Heidelberg University in Germany have developed ‘digital babies’ to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions in newborns.
The Digital Metabolic Twin Centre at the University of Galway collaborated with Heidelberg University, the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, and Heidelberg University Hospital to create computational models of newborn infants using data from 10,000 real-world newborns.
360 whole-body computational models were constructed to simulate infant metabolism in the first six months of life by utilizing data such as sex, birth weight, and metabolite concentrations.
A study published in the journal Cell Metabolism on 3 June 2024 revealed that these infant whole-body models successfully predicted biomarkers for inherited metabolic diseases and responses to various treatment strategies.
Lead author Elaine Zaunseder from Heidelberg University stated that babies have unique metabolic features crucial for their growth and development, emphasizing the importance of understanding and applying these metabolic processes using computational models.
This research marks the initial phase towards developing digital twins for infants, which could redefine pediatric healthcare by providing personalized disease management based on each infant’s unique metabolic requirements, according to Zaunseder.
Project study lead Professor Ines Thiele highlighted the significance of early newborn screening for detecting metabolic diseases, emphasizing the need for personalized approaches in disease management due to the variations in disease manifestations in infants.
On a related note, researchers at Imperial College London are currently developing digital twin heart models for NHS patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension, as announced in May 2024.
