The Promise of Digital Humans for Patient Support and Empathy

The WHO anticipates a health worker shortage of 11 million by 2030, and 4.5 billion people currently lack access to basic health services. AI is bridging the gap. Generative AI’s value in the healthcare market is expected to reach $2.7 billion in 2025 and $17 billion by 2034, reflecting the technology’s already impressive contribution.

AI-powered software is twice as likely as a doctor to make an accurate diagnosis when examining stroke patients’ brain scans, and it can also spot more bone fractures. It’s estimated that emergency room doctors miss broken bones up to 10% of the time, and, what’s more, X-ray technicians are overloaded and in short supply. A study in Northern England found that AI accurately determined which patients required hospitalization in 80% of the cases.

Tomorrow’s care today: Digital humans in healthcare services

Digital humans resemble human beings in behavior, appearance, and communication abilities and assist healthcare providers in maintaining support, care, and friendliness through interactions with AI. They are designed to interact with humans using facial recognition, natural language processing, and other AI techniques. Their gestures, expressions, and emotional responses transpire within a digital environment. Some AI digital humans, like those created by Antix, have become renowned for their design. Antix’s digital humans have received awards from 3D Total and earned recognition as next-level entities that inspire and bring together creatives worldwide.

The groundbreaking abilities of hyper-realistic digital humans

Hyper-realistic entities can keep isolated patients company, remind them to take medications, give basic medical advice, and help schedule appointments. They look and feel human with great attention to detail and efficiency, thanks to Antix’s Unreal Engine 5-powered technology, the unparalleled photorealism of which sets the company apart from competitors. Stunning levels of detail bring wear elements, accessories, and fabrics to life, allowing Antix’s digital humans to bridge the gap between the real world and virtual worlds.

Their ability to console people who are ill and suffering is truly groundbreaking, as support and comfort are second only to medication when it comes to patients’ most pressing needs.

While human intervention is necessary in more complex cases, digital humans currently take on the role of triage assistants, AI health coaches, and dietary advisors. They help organizations create empathetic, caring AI interactions with a human touch. Some were designed to help people feel more comfortable having a conversation, so even patients who face challenges in talking to healthcare professionals receive support. They provide healthcare guidance in real-time, 24/7, through live two-way imagery, text, and conversations.

Digital humans evaluate symptoms, provide insight, and direct people to the proper type of care, helping healthcare organizations support physicians and patients. They can analyze symptoms remotely, give treatment advice, and assist in connecting patients and telehealth providers around the clock. 

Digital humans’ responsiveness and nonverbal communication enhance interactions 

Many healthcare organizations are already using chatbots, and they have become ubiquitous in fields like customer support, education, and virtual assistance. Modern chatbots leverage AI, NLP, and machine learning to provide more context-adapted conversations, improving user experience. Digital humans have taken the concept a step further by adding nonverbal abilities, sentiment, and generative AI capabilities for humanlike interactions. Research reveals people can better relate to digital humans when the latter are equipped with nonverbal cues: nodding, winking, frowning, and other expressions conveying emotion.

The anatomy of a digital human

Digital humans combine several technologies, including representation, cognitive services, natural language processing or understanding, and a generative or extractive AI layer. The digital representation is the “face” of the entity, which can be created based on an image of a real human or another concept. The quality of the representation is paramount to outcomes, as Antix’s satisfied users will testify.

Cognitive services personalize communication and include language translation, voice customization, speech synthesis, pitch, prosody, and specialized pronunciation. Natural language processing or understanding interprets the information from the interaction and includes speech detection, language recognition, and speech-to-text translation. Finally, the AI layer provides context recognition, contextual conversation responses, and content creation in the case of generative AI.

Translation, discharge assistance, and other possibilities  

Patients desire digital humans with whom they can interact in their native language. While computer vision-based sign language hasn’t been developed yet, it’s a possibility in the near future. Textual communication is possible for patients who aren’t able to speak.

Digital humans can deliver discharge instructions based on medical records, allowing for an adequate aftercare response. They can replace human staff in the medical discharge process, at least until the patient has to be transported. Another potential use case is escorting patients to their destinations within the healthcare facility so they’re on time for their appointments. The digital human appears on a GPS-enabled device.

Follow-up is essential to treatment outcomes, and using a digital human to engage and support the patient at this stage will help with aftercare compliance, reducing the risk of relapse for patients who do not follow up properly. Physical therapy is one area in which digital humans can be extremely helpful. They can lead patients to the appropriate steps and demonstrate the movements when patients are recovering from orthopedic surgery, improving access to care and reducing the overall cost.

When virtual interactions feel more human

Digital humans have applications beyond healthcare. In customer service, they handle enormous volumes of inquiries across channels, offering near-instant responses and bringing wait times down to a minimum. In hospitality, they can take reservations, give information, and handle basic requests effectively, improving guests’ experiences. They can engage users with interactive and personalized marketing. Most relevantly, hyper-realistic digital humans will feel very real to someone within the confines of four walls who lacks human contact, with all the benefits but none of the downsides of interacting with a biological human.