Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

IBM IOD 2011: IBM launches Watson-like software for healthcare

The predictive analytics platform uses the same natural processing as IBM's Watson supercomputer

IBM has released new predictive analytics software for the management of patient data in the healthcare industry, following the company's Watson supercomputer partnership with American health insurance company WellPoint.

The company launched the software, Content and Predictive Analytics for Healthcare, at its annual Information on Demand conference and described its utilisation of content analytics as similar to that of the supercomputer Watson.

The technology has been first deployed by US-based not-for-profit organisation, Seton Healthcare Family, which plans to focus the new software on the primary causes of hospital readmissions and the establishment of avenues to decrease multiple hospital visits.

Seton Healthcare chief executive, Charles Barnett, said the software used the same natural processing as Watson and would enable the organisation to leverage unstructured information.

“With this solution, we can access an integrated view of relevant clinical and operational information to drive more informed decision making,” Barnett said.

“For example, by predicting readmission candidates, we can reduce costly and preventable readmissions, decrease mortality rates, and ultimately improve the quality of life for our patients.”

The platform will speed up the process by taking medical information from large volumes of clinical and operational data and transform it into healthcare knowledge, taking into account trends, patterns, deviations, and the probability of outcomes.

However, an IBM spokesperson could not disclose details around whether the platform had any interest from Australian healthcare providers.

Speaking about the company's plans for Watson, IBM Watson strategist, Steve Gold, said the September partnership forged with WellPoint to commercialise Watson specifically for healthcare, would first aim to address certain types of cancer.

Gold noted that Watson would initially be used to assist clinicians with the diagnosis stage, as it would have the potential to study millions upon millions of pages of medical research, an impossible task for physicians given their limited time.

According to Gold, IBM was looking to secure more partners in the space including pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners to further the uptake of the technology.

Gold also detailed IBM’s plans to forge partnerships with companies in other industry verticals such as financial services and the legal system, with an emphasis on partnerships as opposed to customers. By partnering with companies that have specific industry knowledge, Gold said, both companies can work together to commercialise Watson and tailor the technology to the specific industries’ needs.

Gold would not comment on whether IBM was currently in negotiations with potential new partners at this stage.

Chloe Herrick travelled to Las Vegas as a guest of IBM.

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: IBM, IBM Australia

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: Financial, healthcare, IBM, IBM Watson, predictive analytics, supercomputing, Watson
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Control your Print Environment
    In your ongoing quest to maximize productivity and drive down costs, you might be surprised by the savings and greater competitive advantage you can achieve with a fully optimised and well-managed printing and imaging environment. In fact, studies have shown that managing your fleet holistically can save you upwards of 30% on your printing costs. And the savings increase exponentially when the scope of work includes automating your paper intensive workflows. Read more.
    Learn more »
  • Managing IBM License Complexity
    IBM provides thousands of products in its portfolio and uses a variety of license models, contract terms and conditions. These license models can be very complex, causing frequent confusion for organisations trying to grasp the concepts while maintaining license compliance. While at first IBM licensing may seem incomprehensible, some education on the license models and licensing scenarios will help minimise the confusion. In addition, a more automated approach to managing licenses enables organisations to gain control, reduce ongoing software costs and minimise license liability risks. Read on.
    Learn more »
  • A Technical Overview of the Oracle Exadata Database Machine and Exadata Storage Server
    Businesses today increasingly need to leverage a unified database platform to enable the deployment and consolidation of all applications onto one common infrastructure. Whether OLTP, DW or mixed workload a common infrastructure delivers the efficiencies and reusability the datacenter needs – and provides the reality of grid computing in-house. Read on.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments