THEMATIC SESSION #7
Digital Twin: Innovative Approaches in Industry and Healthcare
ORGANIZED BY
Vito Del Vecchio
University of Salento
Rocco Furferi
University of Florence
Mariangela Lazoi
University of Salento
Alfonso Marino
University of Campania "L.Vanvitelli"
Giulia Pellegrino
University of Salento
ABSTRACT
Digital Twin (DT) technology is emerging as a transformative paradigm, reshaping the industrial and healthcare sectors by enabling real-time monitoring, simulation, and advanced analytics across multiple levels. This session will explore the latest advancements, challenges, and applications of DT technology within these critical domains.
In the industrial sector, DTs are revolutionizing product design, process optimization, and factory management. They enable enhanced manufacturing quality, improved supply chain resilience, and optimized lifecycle behavior and maintenance of systems. These capabilities underscore DTs as powerful tools for resource management, a feature seamlessly adaptable to healthcare. In this domain, DTs are employed to optimize resource allocation, streamline patient care pathways, and improve operational efficiency within healthcare systems. Additionally, DTs can model the hierarchical structure and functions of the human body, replicating cells, tissues, organs, and systems, thus enabling groundbreaking advancements in personalized medicine and complex medical simulations.
The integration of Extended Reality (XR) technologies, such as multi-dimensional holographic projections and 3D avatars, enhances DT applications by offering immersive and interactive interfaces. XR technologies, including hand-tracking and user-centered designs, enable more intuitive and engaging user experiences, fostering innovative interaction models that bridge the gap between humans and virtual systems.
This session will also highlight interdisciplinary discussions on the convergence of DT with Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, and XR technologies. Participants will gain insights into state-of-the-art research, practical implementations, and emerging trends, fostering collaboration among academia, industry, and healthcare professionals.
TOPICS
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Design, development, and implementation of DT frameworks in industrial and healthcare contexts
- Integration of XR technologies into DT systems
- Data integration, interoperability, privacy, and security in DT applications
- Simulation and visualization techniques for industrial and clinical environments
- Future trends, cross-disciplinary applications, and innovations in DTs
- Scalability and standardization challenges in DT implementation
- Human interaction and engagement with DT systems
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS
Vito Del Vecchio, PhD in Management Engineering, is a research fellow at the Department of Innovation Engineering, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy. His background is focused on Industrial Engineering. His main research deals with technology management in complex industries. His interests include the design and development of solutions for product development and organizational assessment, involving lifecycle management, business process management, digital twin and IoT technologies. He collaborates in both national and European R&D projects related to the digital transformation of industries.
Rocco Furferi (PhD) is Associate Professor at the Department of Industrial Engineering of Florence (DIEF), University of Florence (Italy) where he teaches the courses Mechanical Drafting and Reverse Engineering for optimization. He is Referee for the Mechanical Engineering Master's Degree Course aTnd member of the T3DDY Lab whose aim is to devise multidisciplinary approached to the development of new solutions where research, design, and education come together to offer innovative, customized state-of-the-art care solutions and beyond, based on the use of 3D printing and 3D CAD procedures.
He is responsible for numerous national and international projects for DIEF, including the PNRR CHANGES (Cultural Heritage Active Innovation for Next-Gen Sustainable Society) and TUSCANY HEALTH ECOSYSTEM - SPOKE 3 Advanced technologies, methods and materials for human health and well-being. He is the author of more than 150 papers in the fields of Reverse Engineering, Computational Geometry, CAD and Textile and Mechanical Engineering and Artificial Intelligence.
Mariangela Lazoi is a PhD in Management Engineering. She is a Researcher at the Department of Innovation Engineering of the University of Salento, Lecce, Italy. She is a scientific and technical manager in several research projects. Her research activity is focused on methodologies and technologies for product design, Product Lifecycle Management and Business Process Management. She has extensive competences and experience in the analysis of complex industrial sectors, mainly gained in collaboration with manufacturing companies. She is tutor of doctoral, master and bachelor degree theses and, moreover, she is the author of several scientific articles published both on journals and conference proceeding.
Alfonso Marino is Professor of Economics and Business Organization, with particular reference to the production process and the type of sector, at the Faculty of Engineering Department of Engineering (DI) University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli. He teaches at the same University and Department in the second year of the Master's Degree: Economics Applied to Engineering, The course concerns the Business Plan of eligible projects and the creation of Startups by students with the assistance of the local and national Startup network.He teaches at the same University and Department in the second year of the Master's Degree: Circular Economy for energy and the environment. The course deals with circular economy issues as an alternative model to the Linear Economy applied to the energy and environmental sector. He is Director of the Observatory of Applied Economics to Engineering. As part of the Observatory's activities, agreements are active with companies in both the production and service sectors. Degree in Economics and Commerce. PhD in management engineering, La Sapienza, Rome. Member of the Italian Association of Management Engineering (AiIG) He is in the Doctoral College of Industrial Engineering. He teaches Circular Economy in the Industrial Engineering PhD program. Luigi Vanvitelli was university delegate of the Second University of Naples for the CampusOne – CRUI Conference of Rectors project. He has carried out teaching and research activities at other national and international universities (Sheffield, Newcastle, New York) related to the teaching of technological and organizational innovation in the local public sector and to the business startup. He was a member of the Advisory Board of Sheffield Hallam University, Board of the International Journal of Enterprise Studies and DPM - Doctoral Program in Management - for the themes of technological innovation and organization of local public services and business startups. He was delegated by the Rector of the University of Campania – Luigi Vanvitelli, in the C. di A. of Technapoli Science and Technology Park of the Metropolitan Area of Naples and Caserta. He participated as coordinator in the European project "SUNEAGLE" on circular economy issues. Author of numerous articles for International Journals in Scopus and WoS databases, volumes and international conference proceedings. International Journal Guest Editor on Technological Innovation and Organizational Change.
Giulia Pellegrino is a PhD student in Complex Systems Engineering at the University of Salento, where she researches methodologies and tools for Digital Twins applied to neurodegenerative diseases. She holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Engineering. Her thesis focused on designing and developing a virtual reality environment for assessing hand apraxia. She,also, holds a Master’s Degree in Piano. Professionally, she worked as a Software Engineer at B2OR s.r.l., developing an Augmented Reality assistant for surgical training, and completed an internship at GeoMobile GmbH in Dortmund (DE), specializing in mobile solutions with gamification techniques for road safety. Currently, she collaborates with the Na.Di.M. (Nano and Digital technologies for precision Medicine) Laboratory at the University of Salento, where she co-supervises theses, engages in integrative teaching, and co-authors research on AI and XR for healthcare. She has participated in several international conferences and PhD schools.