Why Google's Foray into Quantum Physics Could Reshape Medtech

Google is on the verge of beginning the design and construction of their own hardware for a quantum computer, a machine designed to use quantum physics to solve problems that conventional computers cannot.

The benefits of quantum computing machines are still being discovered, but the general understanding is that a machine powered by quantum physics can solve problems, process data, and execute algorithms much faster than a conventional machine. This is because qubits can work together to quickly discard all the incorrect paths to a solution, focusing on, and arriving at the solution much faster than conventional computing.

Among the many imagined applications of quantum computing is its effects on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. MRI's rely on quantum properties of atomic nuclei to view inside the body to diagnose disease, without invasive surgery or any residual side effects of radiation. According to Sophie Schirmer, an associate professor in physics at Swansea University, quantum control could provide opportunities for enhanced imaging, which could enable us to create tools that can detect brain chemicals or biomarkers for neurological conditions and cancers in the near future.

This could lead to detecting molecular changes much earlier, before the debilitating symptoms of disease begin to cripple the body. This could also allow for earlier treatment options as well as increased rates of cancer eradication and survival. Google has clearly identified quantum technology as an area of study that is at the forefront of progress, and yet again, is determined to push the conversation further.

Google struck a partnership in 2009 with one of the most infamous startup companies in the quantum computer industry known as D-Wave Systems, in an effort to begin researching and developing hardware for a quantum computer. D-Wave Systems has remained one of the industries leading innovators, although not without controversy.

D-Wave claims to have developed the world's first commercial quantum computer, despite independent tests performed earlier this year that found no evidence that D-Wave's computer uses quantum physics to solve problems more efficiently than a conventional computer. Nonetheless, Google decided to purchase one of their machines last year as they begin to develop their very own quantum hardware lab near the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Despite D-Wave's questionable reputation, Google believes that together the two can work together to produce a 1000 qubit processor, edging them one step closer to a more efficient quantum computer. Google has even teamed up with John Martinis, a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara to help lead the research and hopefully develop his own version of the kind of chip inside a D-Wave machine. Martinis has spent more than a decade researching a more proven approach to quantum computing, and has built some of the largest, most error-free systems of qubits.

Now that Google has established it's own quantum hardware lab, all eyes will be fixed on them as we enter a new age of quantum technology that could significantly alter the landscape of modern medicine. Of course, it seems when it comes to ground breaking technology these days, where else would we look?

Kristopher Sturgis is a contributor to Qmed and MPMN.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to our daily e-newsletter.