Digital Twins of Patient Pathways in Hospitals: What Can They Offer Us?

Franck Fontanili

IMT Mines Albi, France


Abstract: In light of the organizational uncertainties hospitals face, it is evident that, even in the digital age, patient care along the care pathway lacks effective management tools. For instance, it remains challenging to obtain real-time data on the number of patients present in the hospital or in specific areas, as well as their length of stay. Estimating the short-term impact of unforeseen events—such as a delayed patient or doctor, emergencies, or sudden patient surges—on hospital operations is even more difficult. To address this, some hospitals are exploring solutions like command centers, serving as control towers equipped with screens to consolidate and centralize information critical to managing the current situation. Complementing this approach, our research focuses on predictive management based on digital twins. The goal is to develop a decision-support tool to monitor, predict, and optimize patient pathways in what could be called a "Hospital 4.0."

Biography: Franck Fontanili is a Professor at IMT Mines Albi and has led the applied research axis in Organizational Engineering for Health (IOS) within the Industrial Engineering Center (CGI) since 2020. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Paris 13 in 1999 and his accreditation to supervise research (HDR) from INP Toulouse in 2022. His teaching focuses on areas such as Modeling and Simulation, Industrial Engineering, and Production Management.

Prof. Fontanili's scientific expertise includes Digital Twins based on Discrete Event Simulation, Model Engineering (BPM, MDE), and Data Science (Data and Process Mining). Over his career, he has held several leadership roles: as Director of Studies and Head of the QLIO Department at IUT of Cergy-Pontoise, and later as project lead and head of the engineering apprenticeship program at IMT Mines Albi (2008-2013). He also managed the "Supply Chain 4.0" unit in the Industrial Engineering program at IMT Mines Albi from 2016 to 2022. Additionally, Prof. Fontanili has served on the jury for eight pharmacy doctoral theses (for dual-degree pharmacy and engineering students from Mines Albi) and co-supervised ten doctoral dissertations.