The Cleveland Clinic has partnered with IBM to use Watson for genomic research. Researchers will use Watson technology in the area of genomic research to help oncologists deliver personalized medicine by uncovering new cancer treatment options for patients.
The Lerner Research Institute’s Genomic Medicine Institute at Cleveland Clinic plans to evaluate Watson’s ability to help oncologists develop more personalized care to patients for a variety of cancers. The goal of the work is to help researchers and clinicians get out from under the informational backlog coming from new scientific and medical journals that could influence their work. According to IBM, the amount of medical research doubles every five years.
This use of Watson aims to find the “needle in the haystack” through identifying patterns in genome sequencing and medical data to unlock insights that will help clinicians bring the promise of genomic medicine to their patients. The pilot initiative is an extension of on-going programs with Cleveland Clinic to aid the advancement of big data in healthcare.
Given the depth and speed of Watson’s ability to review massive databases, the goal of the collaboration is to increase the number of patients who have access to care options tailored to their disease’s DNA.
Watson technology is also working with a number of other healthcare clinics including the Mayo Clinic. That work matches patients to particular trials and experimental treatments based on patterns from their previous health histories and other data.
