Digital twins in healthcare IoT: A systematic review

Digital twin technology initially marked its presence in production and engineering, subsequently revolutionizing the healthcare sector with its groundbreaking applications. These include the creation of virtual replicas of patients and medical devices, enabling the formulation of personalized treatment plans. The rise of microcomputing, miniaturized hardware, and advanced machine-to-machine communications has laid the foundation for the Internet-of-Medical Things (IoMT), significantly transforming patient care through remote monitoring and timely diagnostics. Amid these technological strides, this paper offers a systematic review of digital twin technology’s integration within healthcare IoT, underlining its crucial role in promoting personalized medicine and tackling the pressing security challenges inherent in healthcare IoT systems. Focusing solely on the growing field of smart healthcare systems powered by IoT infrastructure, we explore the use of digital twins in digital patient modeling, the lifecycle of smart hospitals, surgical planning, medical devices, the pharmaceutical industry, and the IoMT cyber infrastructure, demonstrating their transformative potential in modern healthcare. Building on these findings, we outline key technical implications and emerging trends, highlight current challenges, and propose future research directions to advance healthcare IoT and its digital twin applications.