Digital Twin's Anatomy: A Cross-Sector Framework With Healthcare Validation

作     者：Araghi, Sina Namaki Liu, Zhengyu Sarkar, Arkopaul Louge, Thierry Karray, Mohamed Hedi 

作者机构：Tarbes Univ Technol UTTOP Engn Sch ENIT Prod Engn Lab LGP F-65000 Tarbes France 

出 版 物：《IEEE ACCESS》 (IEEE Access)

年 卷 期：2025年第13卷

页      面：21306-21334页

核心收录：

主　　题：Digital twins digital threads digital threads model-based system engineering model-based system engineering cyber-physical systems ontology ontology digital transformation digital transformation Industry 4.0 Industry 4.0 cross-domain digital twin applications cross-domain digital twin applications 

摘      要：Digital twins (DT) in manufacturing, healthcare, and across different industrial domains are often over-simplified as solely a virtual representation of a physical object or service. Such a definition constitutes a dilemma in distinguishing DTs from digital models, digital shadows, digital threads, and cyber-physical systems. In this article, we aim to elucidate the concept of digital twins and its definition. Therefore, we go through the connotation of digital twins, which has its roots in space exploration and product-life cycle management, and describe the four evolution stages of DT developments. This article employs an ontological approach to clearly and comprehensively define digital twins and related key concepts, including digital models, assets, prototypes, shadows, and threads. Additionally, it presents a structured framework detailing the meta-model and the reference-level ontology of digital twins. To evaluate the proposed structure, definitions, and its important entities, we have examined our framework against 73 peer-reviewed papers in the healthcare sector from 2018 until July 2024. The evaluation and classification criteria of the selected works were based on four research questions. These criteria are driven by the core definitions provided by the main cross-domain digital twin researchers and this article s proposed anatomy of digital twins.