Roadmap
A Roadmap for the European Virtual Human Twin
BRUSSELS – October 21, 2025 – The EC funded Coordination and Support Action (CSA) EDITH officially announces the launch of its final and most critical output: the Roadmap for the European Virtual Human Twin (VHT) and its accompanying Policy Brief.
This landmark delivery concludes EDITH’s two-year mission of providing Europe with a comprehensive, ecosystem-driven inclusive strategy to build a connected, ethical, and interoperable Virtual Human Twin infrastructure, cementing the initiative’s central role in Europe’s digital health strategy.
A unified strategy for Digital Health
A Virtual Human Twin (VHT), as defined by the European Commission, is a digital representation of a human health or disease state. VHTs refer to different levels of human anatomy (e.g. cells, tissues, organs or organ systems). They are built using software models and data and are designed to mimic and predict behaviour of their physical counterparts, including interaction with additional diseases a person may have. The VHT initiative has the potential to revolutionize diagnostics, personalized treatment planning, and medical research.
“The VHT is a bold step from the point of view of someone who has to manage a public health system into having more effective, more resilient, patient-centered healthcare in Europe. – said Sandra Gallina, Director-General of the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) of the European Commission. “AI and data will be part of this transformation, but we need more than algorithms, more than computing power: what we need is trust and ethical standards. We want innovation that serves people and not the other way around.”
The VHT Roadmap is a step-by-step, in-depth strategy that outlines the scientific, technological, industrial, legal, ethical and clinical building blocks required to realize the vision of the Virtual Human Twin. The accompanying Policy Brief extracts the main strategic elements, providing clear recommendations for policymakers and industry leaders. It offers a concise overview of the VHT’s context, vision, foundational building blocks, and concrete steps needed for its realization across Europe.
Collective effort, European legacy
The Roadmap is the result of a truly collective effort by the EDITH consortium—composed of 19 leading European institutions, research centers, and industry partners—and the broader VHT ecosystem. This collaborative approach included input from over 800 individuals spanning academia, healthcare providers, patients, industry, regulators and policy makers, ensuring the strategy is robust, inclusive, and aligns with real-world needs.
“The launch of this Roadmap is the end of an inspiring period of bringing together the ecosystem and creating the vision for the VHT, but at the same time, it is the starting point of the next exciting journey to implement this vision and realize the positive impact of VHT on health and care.” said Prof. Liesbet Geris, Coordinator of the EDITH Project.
Call to Action for European Stakeholders
The EDITH Roadmap and Policy Brief offer recommendations that are designed to be immediately actionable, guiding future investments under the Digital Europe and Horizon Europe programmes.
EDITH encourages all key EU and national stakeholders to thoroughly review these key documents and adopt their strategic recommendations. By doing so, Europe can establish a cutting-edge infrastructure that supports patient-centric care, drives economic competitiveness, and ensures responsible research and innovation in health technology.
The successful completion of the EDITH-CSA project and the delivery of the VHT Roadmap mark a significant legacy, providing the blueprint for the next phase of the European Virtual Human Twin Initiative.
About EDITH
The EDITH Coordination and Support Action (CSA) was a two-year project funded by the European Commission under the Digital Europe Programme. It was tasked with fostering an inclusive ecosystem for Digital Twins in healthcare and preparing a strategic roadmap for the development, integration, and adoption of the Virtual Human Twin (VHT) across Europe.
European Commission website on VHT initiative
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“Views and opinions expressed in the VHT roadmap and policy brief are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”