IBM's Watson Teams Up with the Mayo Clinic

Last week Mayo Clinic announced a partnership with IBM, with plans to use its cognitive computer known as Watson to help match patients with appropriate clinical trials more efficiently than ever before.

Researchers believe that the advanced speed with which Watson can match patients to appropriate clinical trials can help patients find specific treatments more quickly, and possibly lead to speedier discoveries and alternative treatment options. The Mayo Clinic will begin with research studies in cancer, as a proof-of-concept phase is already underway. The current chair of medical oncology at Mayo Clinic, Steven Alberts, MD, recently spoke in an interview with the Mayo Clinic news network about the potential benefits of incorporating Watson into their research.

"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," he said.

Currently there are over 170,000 clinical human studies being conducted all over the world, with roughly 8,000 or so being carried out by Mayo Clinic. These trials provide patients with access to new and emerging innovative treatments. However, enrolling patients manually has proved one of the most arduous tasks of clinical trials, as it is both a tedious and time consuming process.

IBM is currently in the process of designing a version of the Watson specifically tailored to Mayo Clinic's needs. As it processes tasks, the machine will continue to refine the matchmaking process as it learns and familiarizes itself with the matching system. Researchers believe this will allow Watson to become more efficient with time, and could even help locate patients for trials that are difficult to fill, such as those with rare diseases or conditions.

Of course, there are still many boxes that need to be ticked before Watson becomes an instrumental cog in our healthcare system, but the potential benefits of the technology could really be groundbreaking. For now, Mayo Clinic has identified a basic need that Watson could help fulfill, as it's advanced systems could greatly reduce the challenges of enrollment, one of the biggest barriers to clinical trials getting off the ground. Currently, Mayo Clinic reports that only five percent of their patients participate in clinical trial studies, while the national rate is even lower. Researchers believe that raising that percentage could drastically improve the quality of research outcomes, and ultimately lead to better treatment options.

For now, IBM is working with the Mayo Clinic to ensure Watson has the required expertise to facilitate the clinical trial matching process. Mayo experts have been working with IBM to expand Watson's database to include all clinical trials at the Mayo Clinic, as well as current trials in public databases such as those sponsored by the U.S. government.

Researchers indicated that assisting with clinical trial enrollment could just be the beginning of Watson's affect on our healthcare system, as Mayo and IBM continue to discuss other applications for the cognitive computer. Until then, Mayo and IBM will continue to work toward reforming the clinical trial process in the hopes that patients can receive treatments that are more efficient and effective for their individual needs.  

Kristopher Sturgis is a contributor to Qmed and MPMN.

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