Metaverse and Medical Diagnosis: A Blockchain-Based Digital Twinning Approach Based on MobileNetV2 Algorithm for Cervical Vertebral Maturation

Abstract

Advanced mathematical and deep learning (DL) algorithms have recently played a crucial role in diagnosing medical parameters and diseases. One of these areas that need to be more focused on is dentistry. This is why creating digital twins of dental issues in the metaverse is a practical and effective technique to benefit from the immersive characteristics of this technology and adapt the real world of dentistry to the virtual world. These technologies can create virtual facilities and environments for patients, physicians, and researchers to access a variety of medical services. Experiencing an immersive interaction between doctors and patients can be another considerable advantage of these technologies, which can dramatically improve the efficiency of the healthcare system. In addition, offering these amenities through a blockchain system enhances reliability, safety, openness, and the ability to trace data exchange. It also brings about cost savings through improved efficiencies. In this paper, a digital twin of cervical vertebral maturation (CVM), which is a critical factor in a wide range of dental surgery, within a blockchain-based metaverse platform is designed and implemented. A DL method has been used to create an automated diagnosis process for the upcoming CVM images in the proposed platform. This method includes MobileNetV2, a mobile architecture that improves the performance of mobile models in multiple tasks and benchmarks. The proposed technique of digital twinning is simple, fast, and suitable for physicians and medical specialists, as well as for adapting to the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) due to its low latency and computing costs. One of the important contributions of the current study is to use of DL-based computer vision as a real-time measurement method so that the proposed digital twin does not require additional sensors. Furthermore, a comprehensive conceptual framework for creating digital twins of CVM based on MobileNetV2 within a blockchain ecosystem has been designed and implemented, showing the applicability and suitability of the introduced approach. The high performance of the proposed model on a collected small dataset demonstrates that low-cost deep learning can be used for diagnosis, anomaly detection, better design, and many more applications of the upcoming digital representations. In addition, this study shows how digital twins can be performed and developed for dental issues with the lowest hardware infrastructures, reducing the costs of diagnosis and treatment for patients.

Detecting latent topics and trends of digital twins in healthcare: A structural topic model-based systematic review

“… 92 DT provides basic components for constructing Metaverse, while Metaverse provides DT with a broader platform to promote more diverse and convenient interactions. Moztarzadeh et al 93 developed a DT identification method for cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) using ML algorithms. Compared with traditional identification methods, the DT CVM identification method in Metaverse has the advantages of low cost and high accuracy.…”

Artificial Intelligence-Based Algorithms in Medical Image Scan Segmentation and Intelligent Visual Content Generation—A Concise Overview

“…Neurons, which are basic brain building blocks, function as the core computational units of the brain, underpinning the vast expanse of conscious and subconscious processes, and defining our neural identity with each electrochemical interaction [16]. Neurons communicate with other neurons and non-neuronal cells like muscles and glands by biological connections called "chemical synapses", which are the communication points, by which sending nerve cells called presynaptic neurons transmit the message to receiving nerve cells called the postsynaptic neurons.…”

Blockchain and Healthcare: A Critical Analysis of Progress and Challenges in the Last Five Years

“…The idea of metaverse technology, which builds immersive virtual environments and integrates AI and blockchain for medical diagnosis and treatment, is covered in a different set of articles [69,91]. This strategy can enhance patient care, give healthcare workers reliable and precise insights, and guarantee data security thanks to blockchain's immutable ledger.…”