A systematic review of Digital Twins in efficient pandemic management with challenges and emerging trends

In recent years, Digital Twins (DTs) implementation has significantly impacted various sectors like industry, healthcare, engineering, and technology. However, the examination of these areas concerning pandemic management is still in its early stages. To bridge this gap, a systematic literature review was conducted here spanning from 2017 to March 2024, with a specific focus on COVID-19-related issues from 2020 to March 2024. Employing a five-step filtering process, nearly 10,000 articles were initially identified based on specific search strings. Subsequently, 297 publications were selected and examined across pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic phases to discern emerging patterns, limitations, and future research directions. Drawing from these insights, a concept for a ‘Digital-Twin-based Smart Pandemic City’ was proposed, aiming to ensure contemporary amenities while preparing for potential pandemics by leveraging advanced cloud storage and blockchain technology for secure data aggregation. Anticipated challenges that may arise in implementing this model in the future were also explored in this review study.