Changi General Hospital (CGH)’s digital twin made its international debut at Milan Design Week 2025, offering a glimpse into the future of healthcare and design innovation.

CGH's digital twin model of its Emergency Department (ED) was one of 14 Singaporean designs showcased at the prestigious Milan Design Week 2025, demonstrating how design and technology can create meaningful impact in healthcare delivery, and marking a significant milestone for Singapore's healthcare design on the global stage.

CGH has one of the busiest EDs in Singapore, providing 24-hour emergency care for trauma and non-trauma patients. The hospital mooted the concept of a smart hospital digital twin for the ED, collaborating with FARM, a multidisciplinary design agency, and Vouse, a cross-technology company, to develop an interactive and multi-layered model focusing on workflows and processes in the fast-paced ED environment. This is the first time a digital twin concept is being used for an ED in Singapore.

“When we were in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to handle new directives and translate these into new workflows at unprecedented speed. That added tremendous complexity to the functioning of the ED, where everything is interconnected,” shares Clinical Associate Professor Lee Shu Woan, Senior Consultant, Department of Emergency Medicine, CGH, who led the digital twin project as its Principal Investigator. “We saw this as an opportunity to innovate solutions that can address challenging situations where there are many dynamic variables.”

Centred on the core principles of design thinking such as empathy and holistic problem-solving, the CGH multidisciplinary team comprising doctors, nurses, patient service associates and ED operations staff evaluated the ambulatory aspect of the ED ecosystem consisting of spaces, people, activities and workflows. Through a series of in-depth workshops facilitated by FARM and VOUSE, the teams created a complex and integrated visual model that considers the work processes and critical decision-making of staff, as well as human behavioural patterns within the ED. “By combining knowledge and experience in user design, spatial experiences and visual technology, the teams were able to bring new perspectives to complex challenges that are not easily resolved traditionally,” says Mr Tiah Nan Chyuan, Design Lead, Principal Architect and Director, FARM.

From left: Mr Shi Yanjie, Director, Vouse, Clinical Associate Professor Lee Shu Woan, Senior Consultant, Dept of Emergency Medicine, CGH; and Mr Tiah Nan Chyuan, Director, FARM, showcasing the digital twin at Milan Design Week. The digital twin is part of the curated works by DesignSingapore Council that harness the power of design and technology to elevate everyday lives and address societal challenges. (Photo: Mark Cocksedge)

Going beyond operational efficiency, wellbeing parameters were introduced to examine how various factors could impact both patient experience and staff welfare. The result is a digital twin — a virtual representation of the CGH’s physical ED and system — that could offer deeper insights into how the hospital can plan, operate and respond to various types of scenarios. By running these simulations in the digital twin model, the CGH care team is able to observe outcomes, test solutions and find the optimal balance for smoother patient journeys and more efficient healthcare delivery.

The digital twin virtually twins spaces, objects and persons, allowing the CGH care team to simulate different settings and scenarios, and analyse the outcomes.

The digital twin captures not just the physical ED, but also the dynamic interactions of people and processes within them.”

“As the population ages, healthcare needs and systems will continue to evolve. The CGH digital twin aims to provide holistic perspectives through simulation modelling on possible outcomes for more informed and proactive decision-making to support patient care and enhance the patient experience,” shares Dr Ang Shiang-Hu, Head and Senior Consultant, Department of Emergency Medicine, CGH.

An example of how the digital twin works is by simulating different staffing models such as the introduction of CGH’s piloted self-triage stations, before real-world deployment. The piloted self-triage stations allow for the automated registration of patients and vital sign measurement. “Through the digital twin, we are able to identify the number of care team members and explore the use of different triaging models required to optimise patient flow,” explains Ms Elaine Leong, Assistant Director, Nursing, Emergency Department, CGH.

Simulations introducing CGH's piloted self-triage stations in the digital twin could streamline processes through improved resource allocation.

“Innovation in healthcare is not simply about adopting new technologies, it is about fostering meaningful collaborations that bring diverse perspectives to the table. The ED digital twin project marries the healthcare expertise of the CGH ED multidisciplinary care team, and design thinking methodology and technology from our partners to co-create a smart solution for better healthcare.” says  Ms Lydia Tan, Director, Office of Innovation, CGH

There is potential for the technology to be scaled up in the hospital, as the digital twin can be useful for areas where operations and people are key, such as outpatient specialist clinics and inpatient wards.

“Patients are at the heart of all we do. In innovating healthcare for tomorrow, CGH will continually explore technological solutions that can transform the way we deliver care and benefit the patients as well as our care team,” adds Dr Ang.

Click here to read more about Singapore’s showcase at Milan Design Week 2025.