Dive Brief:
- IBM is in the process of designing a version of Watson, its computer technology that processes information like a human, to match patients with clinical trials at the Mayo Clinic. By automating the process currently performed by people, Mayo Clinic hopes to speed up the clinical trial timeline.
- "With shorter times from initiation to completion of trials, our research teams will have the capacity for deeper, more complete investigations," said Nicholas LaRusso, MD, Mayo's project lead for the collaboration. "Coupled with increased accuracy, we will be able to develop, refine and improve new and better techniques in medicine at a higher level."
- Allowing a computer to match patients with clinical trials should also increase the number of individuals taking part. About 3% of patients nationally take part in trials; at Mayo, the number is 5%. The provider would like to use Watson to increase that to 10%.
Dive Insight:
Currently, the project is in the proof-of-concept phase, with Mayo and IBM working to increase the cognitive computer's "knowledge" of clinical trials at Mayo and in public databases; and deepen its understanding of Mayo's trial matching process.
This isn't the first time that Watson has been used to improve efficiency in healthcare. Physicians at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and medical students at Cleveland Clinic have used the program to aid in decision-making. According to Tech Republic, IBM executives expect Watson will be able to assist providers with diagnosis and treatment; map patterns and conditions based upon physicians' input; assist with diagnosis; and perform research on conditions.