This year, CES was different from previous editions, or at least that’s what everyone kept telling me. It was my first time at CES and, despite the global pandemic, the exhibitors that came brought it in a big way. Big players were forced to rethink their presence and innovate. We saw a completely virtual booth, digital avatars and dancing robot dogs.
This year, our booth featured our present and future work in healthcare. To do so, we needed an attention grabbing attraction to take advantage of our premium booth location near the entrance. A towering LED display loomed above the crowds as an eye catching physical representation of a human virtual twin. Visitors could interact with their virtual twin which drew quite a crowd. Although the display was just a metaphor, it was a visual way for people to understand the concept of virtual twins and differentiate this science and data driven concept from digital human avatars.
Then, visitors could deep dive into the virtual twins of the heart and brain with guided experiences. They could hold a 3D printed model heart, which represented their own heart while exploring the virtual one, and it even matched their pulse using sensors. The brain experience showed visitors where different diseases impact the brain and how virtual twins help doctors locate lesions before surgery, saving time in the operating room. This technology could shift healthcare as we know it. In addition to focusing on care, what if doctors could also concentrate on prevention?
These experiences were accompanied by insights and explanations from our amazing team. Dr. Steve Levine, founder of the Living Heart Project, was on hand to break down this incredibly complex technology in a way that non-technical people, like myself, could understand. You can see what I mean in this interview.
Working at Dassault Systèmes, I was naturally familiar with virtual twins of planes, cars, and buildings, but healthcare brought a whole new range of possibilities that could impact me directly. I was surprised to learn how doctors are already using the technology to help children. For example, before this technology, surgeons went into infant surgeries with very little information and would have a very short amount of time to make decisions that would impact the life of the child. Now, they can perform virtual simulations on the infant’s virtual twin to determine the best outcome before even starting the surgery.
Overall, it was an incredibly eye opening experience and I was proud to represent Dassault Systèmes at CES. If you would like more information on virtual twins in healthcare, please check out the 7th International Symposium: Virtual Twin of Human and Living Heart. There is a great recap of the December event here. And we’ll see you next year at CES 2023!
Check out our playlist including all of our videos from CES 2022.
Wei Li Crawford is a Global Corporate Social Media Strategist for Dassault Systèmes.