This interview explores Near Real’s role in the DTRIP4H project and highlights how digital twin technologies are applied in MRI procedures to improve patient experience and professional training while combining technical development with a human-centred approach.

𝐐: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐏4𝐇, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭?
A: Near Real joined DTRIP4H because the project combines advanced digital development with a real need in healthcare. Digital twin solutions were already of interest to us before the project, so we saw clear value in a use case where technology can support both patient preparation and professional learning in the MRI context.
In DTRIP4H, Near Real is part of the Use Case 1 team, which focuses on medical imaging environment-based digital twins. Our role as a technical partner is to contribute to the digital and interactive elements of the solution and help turn complex data, environments, and workflows into something practical and usable. For us, it is important that technology is not only developed, but also made understandable and useful together with the other partners.

𝐐: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐑𝐈 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬? 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐏4𝐇 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬?
A: MRI is a demanding environment. There are strict safety requirements, technical complexity, and a clear need for proper preparation. At the same time, the patient experience matters. MRI examinations can be stressful, and anxiety may affect how the procedure is experienced.
DTRIP4H addresses these issues by combining technology, training, and patient-centred thinking. In Use Case 1, digital twin-based approaches are used to build more realistic preparation and learning environments. This supports a better understanding of the MRI setting as a whole: not only the technical side, but also the human side.

𝐐: 𝐌𝐑𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬?
A: Technical training is necessary, but technical instructions alone can remain abstract. A patient story gives the situation a human context. It reminds professionals that an MRI procedure is not only a sequence of tasks, but also an experience for a person who may feel uncertain or anxious.
This makes learning easier to remember and easier to apply in practice. When safety instructions and procedures are linked to a realistic patient journey, the training supports not only technical accuracy but also communication, empathy, and situational awareness.

𝐐: 𝐈𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲-𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬?
A: A digital patient twin can bring several elements together in the same learning situation. Instead of learning safety instructions, patient guidance, and emotional factors separately, professionals can see how these are connected in practice.
That matters because real clinical work does not happen in separate categories. It happens in real situations where workflow, safety, communication, and patient reactions all affect each other. A digital twin can make that clearer and more concrete, which helps learning stay with the professional beyond the training setting.

𝐐: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐏4𝐇 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠?
A: People are often interested in the combination of advanced technology and practical healthcare use. Digital twins, AI, immersive environments, and new data-driven approaches attract attention, but in DTRIP4H the key point is that these are tied to real use cases.
In Use Case 1, that link is clear. The work connects patient preparation, professional learning, and the MRI environment. That makes the project relevant not only from a research perspective, but also from the perspective of usability and future application.

𝐐: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐮𝐦?
A: A project like this needs different kinds of expertise. No single organisation can cover all the necessary perspectives. Research, clinical knowledge, technical development, and practical implementation all have to come together.
For Near Real, a European consortium offers the chance to contribute our own strengths while learning from others internationally. That improves the quality of the work and helps keep the results relevant in practice. It also supports the development of solutions that are not only innovative, but usable.
For me, an important part of this project is the way it brings together technology, international collaboration, and real environments. That is how meaningful healthcare innovation should be built. I also value the communication and the growing network that this project helps create, as well as the opportunities for future collaboration

We sincerely thank Mari for sharing her valuable perspectives. We wish her and the Near Real team continued success in driving impactful innovation within the DTRIP4H project!

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This interview was initiated by Ieva Rudė (TeraGlobus) in her role as DTRIP4H dissemination manager. For any questions or potential collaboration related to this interview, please contact: ieva@teraglobus.lt