Digital twins could help patients get more from automated insulin delivery, study finds

Combining digital twins with automated insulin delivery (AID) could help patients with diabetes control blood sugar more effectively, according to a new clinical trial.

The study, conducted by scientists at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and industry partners, looked at whether diabetics who use AID systems achieve better glycaemic control when provided with more information and guidance.

Digital twins — predictive computer models — were developed based on information about each participant’s genotype, phenotype, physiology, and behavior as well as their glycaemic profile.

The resulting models were used to generate advice about optimal AID parameter setting, which was provided to the patients two times a week.

More importantly, the digital models allowed the patients to assess the impact of various “what if” treatment scenarios.

Powerful tool

According to the authors, “The results from this six-month clinical trial involving 72 people with T1D confirm that such an interactive approach can improve glycaemic control beyond the capabilities of the AID system alone.”

Based on these findings, they conclude the approach could be “a powerful tool allowing people with diabetes to see what would happen if they adjusted some parameters of their otherwise complex and virtually incomprehensible AID algorithm.

“Emerging digital twin technologies, which program certain characteristics, such as a person’s glucose-insulin metabolism, into a computer application, not only enable rapid therapy parameter optimization but also offer educational support to make diabetes management more accessible,” the authors add.

Digital twins

Digital twins have come to prominence over the past decade with, according to one report, 29% of companies worldwide using them in strategic development in areas like supply chain management and manufacturing.

Their use in drug research is a more recent phenomenon; however, both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency have begun assessing the potential application of twins in clinical trials.

In addition, the FDA recently looked at the potential role of digital twins — in combination with AI and machine learning — in clinical development and therapeutic management.

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