Digital Patient Project

Over the past three decades, the idea of a digital representation of a human has evolved from the recognition of the shortcomings of reductionism to the basis for in silico medicine. Where once funding centered around investigating the human genome, to date hundreds of millions of dollars have funded virtual human efforts worldwide, resulting in standards, platforms, models and simulations, and research organizations. These efforts include Physiome, led by the International Union of Physiological Scientists, the Virtual Physiological Human and Virtual Human Twins European Initiatives, and the recent 12 Labours project led by the Auckland Bioengineering Institute in New Zealand. 

The Digital Patient is conceptualized as patient-specific modeling to support medical decision-making. This definition has likewise evolved to encompass “a technical framework, that once fully developed, will make it possible to create a computer representation of the health status of each citizen that is descriptive, interpretive, integrative and predictive” (Roadmap for the Digital Patient, 2013). The realization of the Digital Patient concept will be a definitive step towards fully personalized medicine.

The Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority has awarded funding to the National Center for Collaboration in Medical Modeling and Simulation at Old Dominion University in support of Digital Patient research and development. The overriding goal is to enhance the use of AI and Modeling and Simulation (M&S) in medical education, research, and clinical care. This research will also involve faculty and staff at the Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences Center, the Virginia Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation Center (VMASC), and the Sentara Center for Healthcare Simulation and Immersive Learning (SCHSIL). The effort has two facets – the Digital Patient Infrastructure and the Virtual Standardized Patient.

Last updated 8/20/2026