IBM’s Watson Supercomputer will play a crucial role in a new multi-year program being unveiled in China.
The company will work in conjunction with Hangzhou Cognitive Care to have Watson for Oncology incorporated into 21 hospitals.
This particular computing platform specializes in synthesizing tremendous amounts of data in order to provide physicians with a summary of patient records and numerous pieces of medical literature to help find the best individualized treatments for certain patients, according to IBM’s statement.
Hangzhou, a healthcare services organization, will assist IBM in matters like translation support because the insights delivered by Watson will initially only be available in English. Sales and customer support will also fall under Hangzhou’s purview as well.
“Watson has the power to transform how doctors battle cancer in China and around the world, providing physicians with insights regarding treatment options that help them customize therapeutic recommendations specific to each individual, based on a patient’s specific needs,” said Zhen Tu, CEO of Hangzhou Cognitive Care, in a statement.
Another important feature built into Watson’s programming is its machine-learning capabilities, which means it will improve itself over time.
This could be a useful feature as China saw 4.3 million new cancer cases last year along with an estimated 2.8 million cancer deaths, noted FierceBiotech. Physicians are having difficulties staying up to date on emerging cancer research so Watson Oncology could prove to be a valuable hub of information.
Also, this is the first partnership IBM established in China, but not the first foray into healthcare for Watson. The technology giant signed a deal with the American Diabetes Association in June to develop a new set of research tools to understand how to prevent, diagnose, and treat diabetes.
