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Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber has taken the Synthekid programme to an international audience, sharing its progress and building new connections at the International Digital Twin Consortium (DTC) Conference at Nexus, Leeds.

Synthekid is one of the Digital Twin Consortium’s recognised healthcare testbeds, giving the programme an opportunity to share its work with organisations at the forefront of digital twin innovation and learn from approaches being developed around the world.

As a testbed, Synthekid is exploring how digital twin technologies can be applied in real-world healthcare settings to better understand how long-term conditions develop and identify opportunities for earlier intervention.

At the conference, the team provided DTC members with an update on the programme’s progress and shared emerging insights from its development activities. They also connected with organisations across healthcare, academia, industry and technology, with discussions covering emerging technologies, standards and governance, as well as opportunities for future research, innovation and collaboration.

The conference highlighted the potential for digital twins and advanced analytics to support more proactive, predictive and personalised approaches to healthcare, including at population scale.

Laura Boyd, Director of Digital Partnerships, Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber said:

“We are incredibly proud to be leading the development of SYNTHEKID – the Yorkshire Digital Twin –  in collaboration with West Yorkshire ICB, Nexus, University of Leeds and Crysp. It brings together the NHS, academia, industry and patient organisations to explore how digital twin technology can help us tackle one of the most pressing health challenges facing our region.

Kidney disease is often detected too late, when opportunities to slow or prevent progression have already been lost. SYNTHEKID gives us the opportunity to think differently: using data and innovation to identify risk earlier, understand where intervention could have the greatest impact, and ultimately help prevent people progressing to kidney failure, while also reducing the devastating cardiovascular consequences of chronic kidney disease.

For Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, this is exactly the role we want to play: convening the right partners around a major unmet need and turning ambitious innovation into something that could make a real difference to patients, communities and the NHS.”

Dr Jason Broch, Chief Strategic Clinical Information & Innovation Officer, West Yorkshire ICB said:

“Synthekid demonstrates the power of partnership working across West Yorkshire. Through the collaboration between the West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, alongside academic, clinical and technology partners, we are exploring how digital twin technology can transform the way we understand and manage population health.

By engaging with the International Digital Twin Consortium and learning from leading organisations across the globe, we are combining innovation with real-world healthcare challenges to create the foundations for more proactive, data-driven care. Together, we’re building the partnerships and capabilities needed to accelerate innovation for the benefit of patients and communities across West Yorkshire and beyond.”

For Synthekid, building connections and learning from the conference will help inform the programme’s continued development. Future opportunities include building partnerships to support research and innovation, identifying collaborative projects and exploring potential routes to attract investment and funding.

Find out more in the video below: