Clinicians all over the World expressed trust and agreed in considering the use of Computer Modeling & Simulation accurate enough for clinical applications, but there's still a long way to go for the practical employment of in silico medicine in the clinical practice
For the practical application of the Virtual Human Twin, the opinion of the clinicians who are, or will be, applying this advanced set of technologies is paramount. Therefore, in 2021 a survey was conducted among clinicians all over the World to investigate the knowledge, the applications, and the perception of in silico medicine tools. This work resulted in a paper published by Raphaëlle Lesage (VPHi) and colleagues in Frontiers in Medical Technologies, highlighting some crucial topics.
The clinicians who responded to the 2021 survey expressed trust in Computer Modeling & Simulation (CM&S), giving an average rate of 6.6 out of 10. The trust is generally higher among those with a high awareness of in silico concepts. However, even respondents with a lower level still rated the trust above 5.5 out of 10, on average.
The trust on in silico methods also reflects on the perceived accuracy, where most of the clinicians who responded to the survey agreed, or strongly agreed, in considering CM&S accurate enough for clinical applications.
Gathering together all the opinions expressed during the survey, it was also possible to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) related to the use of CM&S in clinics. Here's a resume:
• Strengths: An overall awareness of the concepts and a high confidence in the role of modeling and simulation in planning procedures, a sufficient accuracy, and a relatively high level of trust;
• Weaknesses: Difficulties in accessing proper technical expertise and computing resources and the perception that modeling and simulation apply only to a few medical areas;
• Opportunities: Confidence in the growth of methods, data, and experiences in clinics as well as the prospective exploration of such applications in teaching and training. Moreover, the new generations of clinicians that will arise will be keener on the use of in silico medicine tools;
• Threats: Issues in scaling up the adoption of CM&S due to the current scarce frequency of application, the lack of a shared pathway to gather evidence to support the safe use of in silico technologies in clinics, and the lack of funding to recruit dedicated expertise within clinical premises.
Such a study has been essential for taking a snapshot of the experience and opinions of clinicians all over the World about in silico medicine. Currently, a new and more extended study is ongoing if you want to get involved or help us spread the word. Please, contact us at manager@vph-institute.org.
