Capabilities of digital twins when servicing medical equipment

The main articles are:

• Digital Twin of Organization (DTO)
• Digital Twins in Healthcare

A digital twin is a virtual representation of a real physical object with a certain degree of detail. If we talk about medical technology, this is a certain model that is "known" about the state of real equipment - the representation of the device in the information system, characterized by the current values ​ ​ of certain indicators (as well as their change over time).

Analytical agencies like Gartner and Accenture see great promise in digital twin technology, expecting increased investment in this area from healthcare organizations in the near future. Moreover, in medicine we are talking about several types of digital twins - about models of equipment and its maintenance, about "doubles" of pharmaceutical and chemical drugs that allow designing vaccines and drugs, as well as about digital avatars of patients.

As part of this article, we will only talk about equipment maintenance, since this is the technology of today, available even to small clinics.

Illustration: all-events.ru

What tasks the digital twin solves

Thanks to the data collected in the model, the digital twin simplifies the maintenance of equipment.

Some problems with it can be fixed remotely. In particular, the digital twin allows you to diagnose a number of problems without going to the place.

Due to the fact that the digital twin reflects the state of the physical device and the history of its change, it increases the predictability of repairs. By changing the main indicators, you can predict some problems - for example, the imminent failure of individual parts. This allows you to carry out timely repairs, reducing downtime, which means financial and reputational losses of the clinic.

Moreover, the digital twin allows you to optimize repairs. Knowing what the problem was, the master can come to the facility, already having the necessary spare parts - he will not have to ride twice.

Some breakdowns, if not noticed in time, lead to the replacement of adjacent parts. Proactive repair, available through digital twin control, avoids this by reducing overall costs.

The approach of digital twins is already actively used in the maintenance of CT and MRI devices. Modern technology sends hundreds of technical messages from its sensors per day. Analysis of such messages from a large number of devices allows you to build maintenance models and predict breakdowns of a particular unit from them.

How to put the approach into practice

It is difficult to imagine that a small clinic will begin the process of introducing complex medical equipment management systems with imaging and feedback for adjusting devices. This is simply unprofitable. Obviously, the introduction of a digital twin should pay off - the effect of this ideology should save more than the introduction costs. However, a minimum of functions can start a small business. It is important to begin to digitize information about existing equipment and processes related to its maintenance.

A database with data from devices with a history of their breakdowns and repairs in this sense is an analogue of a digital twin, since service specialists, relying on this data, can draw conclusions about bottlenecks and potential points of failure of devices. You can implement such a base, and at the same time digitize the processes associated with equipment maintenance using specialized tools - helpdesk systems. In the first approximation, they allow you to record all requests for equipment maintenance - do not lose them and analyze them in bulk. But with the help of additional modules, they turn into systems for storing all information about installed devices.

There are many similar solutions on the market, both for local installation (boxed products) and available by subscription (Solution SaaS). Cloud tools (SaaS) are usually quite accessible to small and medium-sized businesses.

Let's talk about the advantages that the digitization of service processes in a medical organization gives. As a rule, maintenance and repair of equipment is organized in-house, using a third-party service company or according to a combined scheme (its own service service service plus a contract concluded with the service company). Each of these options has its own features.

For Own Service

The Helpdesk system allows you to store all information about the equipment being served - the history for each service call, the scope and schedule of planned technical work, the necessary documentation. As a result, it becomes possible to:

• monitor the terms of scheduled maintenance and remind about the upcoming work;
• Maintain service history and analyze the most common causes of failure
• collect the instructions for the devices in one place and automatically generate the necessary documents (defect detection certificate, write-off certificate, etc.).

For work with contractors

Choosing a contractor who has already implemented a helpdesk system helps make service more controlled:

• repair applications will not be lost - you will not have to waste time on repeated calls and reminders;
• on any request at any time it will be possible to obtain the necessary information - when taken into work, in what status the repair, when it will be performed - and leave the necessary comments;
• for each application, the quality of the contractor's work can be assessed and conclusions about its effectiveness can be drawn by analyzing these assessments;
• It is possible to easily generate reports on the work done.

Today, medical technology is an integral part of the diagnosis and treatment of a large number of different diseases. According to GOST 58451-2019 medical institutions must carry out regular maintenance of equipment that is on the balance sheet. Whatever method of organizing this process the company chooses, the digital twin will help optimize costs and minimize the risks of unexpected equipment failure. This, in turn, will have a positive effect on the quality of the medical services provided.

Author: Alexander Shiyanov