Digital Twin and Telemedicine: A Conversation with Professor Sergio Pillon

Welcome back to My Digital Twin! Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Professor Sergio Pillon, a true pioneer in telemedicine. His CV? Let’s just say it’s biblical—18 densely packed pages. He has done it all: a renowned angiologist, researcher, expert in digital healthcare, and former government advisor for telemedicine until 2018. But let’s allow him to introduce himself and take us on a journey through the evolution of telemedicine.

From the South Pole to Mars: The Evolution of Telemedicine
Pillon:
”I’m a doctor, a specialist in medical angiology. My journey began in research, with two expeditions to the South Pole studying vascular adaptations in extreme conditions. In 1987, I published my first paper on telemedicine, presenting it to Nobel laureates Renato Dulbecco and Rita Levi-Montalcini.”
And if you think the South Pole is extreme, wait until you hear this:
“I took part in a NASA seminar alongside European, Russian, and Japanese space agencies. The WiFi password? ‘Mars or death’. That should give you an idea of the mindset in those circles—high stakes, high ambition. The focus was healthcare in space. Imagine treating an astronaut on Mars when communications have a 40-minute delay. That’s where telemedicine becomes essential.”
From space missions to hospital wards, telemedicine has been proving its value. The challenge now is bringing this level of innovation into everyday healthcare.

Faster Care at the South Pole Than in Rome
Pillon:
”Let me share a story. I was at San Camillo hospital in Rome when a call came from the South Pole—a technician had fallen from a pylon. They sent over X-rays, I paused my consultation with a patient, coordinated with a radiologist, and within 20 minutes we had completed the remote diagnosis.”
The patient I had left waiting then hit me with a classic Roman one-liner:
“Doctor, I get that it was urgent, but I realised something—if I’d been at the South Pole, you’d have seen me in 20 minutes. Here in Rome, I waited five hours.”
This is the paradox of modern medicine: we have the technology for instant care, yet we remain stuck in a system of endless waiting rooms.

The Digital Twin: Preventing Rather Than Repairing
This brings us to the Digital Twin, the core of our work.
D’Arpa:
”We collect data from ‘healthy’ patients—those who appear healthy—and use predictive models to detect potential issues early. One of the biggest indicators? Sleep. If sleep patterns suddenly change, that’s often the first sign of an emerging health problem.”
Pillon:
”Exactly. As angiologists, we know that nighttime is critical for the heart. Blood pressure fluctuations, arrhythmias, sleep apnoea—these are all red flags. And yet, most people only see a doctor once things have already gone wrong.”
This is where wearable devices come in. But collecting data isn’t enough—we need systems that can interpret it properly.
D’Arpa:
”During the COVID-19 pandemic, a Stanford study found that Apple Watches could predict an infection three days before symptoms appeared. Why? Because the body reacts before we notice—changes in heart rate, respiration, temperature. If we track those patterns, we can predict illnesses before they manifest.”

AI: The Only Way to Manage the Data Overload
Pillon:
”And here’s the real issue—who analyses the data? If a patient sends me three ECGs a day in PDF format and expects me to check them all, that’s simply impossible. We need AI to filter and highlight only the relevant alerts.”
Exactly. The Digital Twin is designed to handle this—collecting data, analysing trends, and alerting doctors only when intervention is needed.

Who Visits an Angiologist Before a Heart Attack? No One. And That’s a Problem.
Here’s the big question: how do we catch patients before it’s too late?
D’Arpa:
”The reality is that no one visits an angiologist when they feel fine. The Digital Twin can help, but we also need to rethink who can guide people towards preventive care.”
Enter an unconventional but brilliant idea: beauty therapists and personal trainers.
D’Arpa:
”People who care about their appearance are often more invested in their health. Beauty professionals and fitness trainers see their clients regularly and could be the first to notice early warning signs. They could become ambassadors for the Digital Twin, helping people identify potential health risks before they become serious.”
Pillon:
”Spot on. It’s like telemetry in Formula 1—Ayrton Senna’s fatal crash happened because his steering column failed. If they’d had digital telemetry, they could have spotted the issue before the accident. The Digital Twin needs to be the same for human health—detecting problems before they lead to a crisis.”

Conclusion: The Future of Healthcare Is Here, but We Need to Change Our Mindset
Healthcare today is still reactive—we intervene only after something has gone wrong. With the Digital Twin, we can make it predictive. But to do so, we must:
✅ Use data smartly, without overwhelming doctors.
✅ Train new professionals to help identify health risks early.
✅ Bridge the gap between medicine and wellness, by involving fitness and beauty professionals in health monitoring.
The technology is ready. Now, we need the mindset shift to match it.
A huge thank you to Professor Sergio Pillon for this insightful conversation. And as always, stay tuned to My Digital Twin—because the future of healthcare is already here.

Sergio d’Arpa

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