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Digital heart twins can guide a lifesaving procedure

In a small trial, the simulation pinpoints the source of faulty beats and speeds procedure time

A web of blue lines etch the outline of a heart against a black background in an illustration meant to evoke the idea of a digital version of the organ.

Digital replicas of the heart are helping doctors personalize treatment for dangerous rhythm disorders.

Yuichiro Chino/Moment/Getty Images

By Elie Dolgin

Virtual replicas of individual patients’ hearts have allowed doctors to refine and personalize a lifesaving medical procedure for dangerous rhythm disturbances.

Like flight simulators for physicians, these “digital twins” give doctors a way to preview different intervention options on computer models of a patient’s anatomy before ever entering the treatment room.