Human Digital Twins for pervasive healthcare: A scoping review

Abstract

Background: Human Digital Twins (HDTs) have recently emerged, especially in the context of healthcare. With the growing emphasis on preventive healthcare beyond diagnosis, pervasive sensing has become essential which enables continuous monitoring through real-world data captured from wearables and/or mobile devices. Objective: This scoping review investigates how pervasive sensing technologies have been utilized in the implementation of HDTs for healthcare, with a focus on understanding the twinning methods, identifying their advantages and limitations, and uncovering key challenges encountered in real-world applications. Methods: We proposed an analytical framework to examine how pervasive sensing technologies are utilized in the implementation of HDTs for personal health management. Using this framework, we conducted a comprehensive literature search across PubMed, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Results: A total of 39 eligible papers were reviewed. We present an analysis of these studies and provide a discussion on the potential and limitations of HDTs in the context of pervasive healthcare. Conclusions: The key takeaway is that the integration of HDTs and pervasive sensing provides a foundation for realizing pervasive healthcare by enabling not one-time digital replication, but continuous and comprehensive monitoring of individuals, including their surrounding environments and behavioral changes.