Imagine testing a medical device without ever touching a physical prototype, or optimizing a complex biotech process without disrupting your operations. That’s the promise of digital prototyping and twinning.
These virtual representations of physical products or systems replicate behavior, functionality, and characteristics, streamlining the traditionally lengthy and expensive process of product development. This article explores the concept of digital prototyping and twinning, their benefits, and how they are transforming industries like medtech and biotech.
🔬Read more about medical device product development here!
Digital prototypes or digital twins are virtual models that mimic physical products, enabling designers to simulate performance, test functionality, and optimize designs before creating a physical prototype.
They address the significant challenges of traditional product development, including high costs, lengthy timelines, and the passive nature of iterative design. By minimizing the number of physical prototypes required, digital prototyping accelerates innovation and reduces the risks of market failure.
The expanding field of digital prototyping lends itself to more efficient, more cost-effective product development processes. This potentially paves the way for more accessible methods for startups and existing companies to deliver their products to the public.
Digital prototyping and twinning are particularly impactful in the medtech and biotech sectors due to the complexity of products and stringent regulatory requirements. For example:
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In medtech and biotech, product development typically spans 3 to 7 years, encompassing stages like device discovery, research, prototyping, validation, and FDA approval. Each stage includes numerous intermediary steps—market assessments, iterative testing, data collection and analysis, and regulatory submissions—that consume immense resources. In addition, each stage demands significant time, energy, and capital, leaving many products unable to reach the market.
Delays in prototyping and testing, reliance on manufacturers, and unforeseen setbacks further extend timelines and inflate costs. Digital prototyping significantly simplifies this process by offering insights early in the design phase, helping to refine concepts before physical production.
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Traditional prototyping relies heavily on manufacturers to create and refine designs—a costly and time-intensive process. Digital prototyping eliminates this dependency, enabling companies to test designs virtually. By simulating multiple design variables simultaneously, businesses can identify optimal configurations before investing in physical prototypes, potentially saving up to 35% of total development costs.
This approach also reduces the expenses associated with repeated testing cycles and minimizes waste from discarded materials or failed prototypes. Additionally, by leveraging in silico testing, companies can streamline regulatory approval processes, cutting costs further by reducing the need for extensive clinical trials.
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Regulatory approval is another bottleneck in medical device product development. Digital prototyping facilitates this process by leveraging in silico tests—virtual simulations that demonstrate device feasibility. These tests can reduce the need for extensive physical trials, expediting regulatory review and approval.
Moreover, in silico simulations provide highly detailed datasets that can be directly integrated into submissions to regulatory bodies, ensuring compliance with evolving guidelines. By offering reproducible and transparent results, digital prototyping builds confidence in device safety and efficacy. Additionally, digital models can predict how a device or treatment performs under various conditions, addressing potential regulatory concerns before physical testing even begins.
🔬Read more about regulatory affairs for life science startups
Digital prototyping also transforms workflow efficiency. Analysts and design engineers can work concurrently, bypassing the sequential nature of traditional methods. This parallelization accelerates design cycles, allowing teams to evaluate design decisions alongside laboratory testing. This streamlined workflow enhances team productivity and enables faster problem-solving.
Additionally, digital prototyping reduces the bottlenecks associated with waiting for physical prototypes, enabling real-time iterations and feedback loops. By integrating advanced simulation tools, teams can predict potential issues early in the design process, minimizing rework and ensuring resources are utilized effectively. The ability to share and collaborate on virtual models across departments or even locations further fosters innovation and cohesive decision-making.
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Digital twins are created using a combination of geometry, physical parameters, and multiphysics simulations. For medtech and biotech startups with earlier prototypes, experimental data can be integrated into machine learning algorithms to enhance fidelity. These algorithms use performance-driven data from the product itself, enabling simulations that reflect real-world behavior.
Simulations may be:
Physics-based: Using numerical models to simulate system behavior.
Data-driven: Relying on experimental or machine-derived data.
Hybrid: Combining physics-based and data-driven approaches for maximum accuracy.
These advanced simulations enable precise adjustments to product designs, providing a robust platform for optimizing performance and achieving desired outcomes.
🔬 Read more about market access for medtech product development
The integration of digital prototyping and twinning into medtech and biotech is not merely a technological shift but a paradigm change. By addressing the challenges of traditional medical device product development—long timelines, high costs, and inefficiencies—these tools empower companies to innovate more effectively. With the ability to explore design alternatives, refine prototypes, and ensure regulatory compliance, digital twins provide a competitive edge in a highly regulated and competitive landscape.
As adoption grows, digital twins will likely become a cornerstone of medtech and biotech innovation, driving advancements in patient care and expanding access to cutting-edge solutions. They offer significant advantages to industries like medtech and biotech, where innovation often hinges on overcoming logistical and financial hurdles.
Thanks to these advanced technologies, digital prototypes and digital twins for medical device product development will surely become indispensable for modern engineering, enabling faster, more efficient development cycles and opening doors to unprecedented innovation.
Digital prototyping and twinning aren’t just technological advancements—they’re strategic assets. By embracing these tools, companies can stay ahead in competitive markets, delivering high-quality products that meet both regulatory and consumer expectations.
🔬Learn more about digital prototyping and digital twinning in this webinar and at University Lab Partners.
Do you have a great company in the bioscience or medtech industry? Do you need wet-lab and/or fabrication space to develop and test your product?
