Jay Clemens
IBM and Mayo Clinic have partnered to expand the database of IBM’s Watson cognitive computer in an effort to develop clinical trials and provide individual medical options to patients.
IBM Watson will work to analyze Mayo’s clinical data in order to match trials with specific patients, IBM said Monday.
“Using Watson’s cognitive computing capabilities, Mayo Clinic can consistently offer more cutting-edge medical options to patients and conclude trials faster,†said Mike Rhodin, senior vice president of IBM Watson Group.
“Ultimately, this effort will also help advance scientific discoveries into promising new forms of care that clinicians can use to treat all patients,” he added.
IBM and Mayo Clinic are working to incorporate Mayo Clinic’s clinical trials and the ClinicalTrials.gov public database into Watson under the proof-of-concept phase of the partnership.
The system is scheduled to go into clinical application in 2015.
“In an area like cancer —where time is of the essence — the speed and accuracy that Watson offers will allow us to develop an individualized treatment plan more efficiently so we can deliver exactly the care that the patient needs,†says Steven Alberts, chair of medical oncology at Mayo Clinic.
