In the era of COVID-19, how digital can serve health

A Round Table hosted by Julien Bergounhoux, editor-in-chief of L'Usine Digitale, was dedicated to digital technologies (HPC / HPDA) in the field of health with a with a major focus on COVID-19.

The health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting the economy, forcing businesses and society as a whole to adapt and find new ways of operating. An adaptation made largely possible by digital technologies. In particular, they play a crucial role in health, whether by enabling new uses of telemedicine for monitoring patients at home or by analyzing large amounts of data intelligently to better model the evolution of epidemic outbreaks.

HPC and HPDA in particular have a crucial role to play in accelerating the discovery of new drug molecules or the development of vaccines, but also in making personalized medicine possible through human digital twins. France has leading skills in these areas, but will it give itself the means to be a pioneer rather than a follower? And how should these technological advances be framed to ensure that this sensitive data does not fall into the wrong hands?

The major players in HPC, Big Data and Simulation debated the technological but also societal challenges of these new uses in this particularly critical field of applications.