Global computer company IBM is in the process of creating a supercomputer which will work to fight and treat cancer in patients, in the first commercial programme of its kind to use ‘big data’ to help fight the disease. This initiative is in partnership with health insurer WellPoint and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York. The computer works by sifting through medical information for over 600,000 pieces of evidence, with two million pages of text for various oncology research books and medical journals. This could help to speed up the diagnoses of patients, thus offering the optimum treatment as soon as possible.
The combination of technology and the decision-making process is set to revolutionise the information available to medical staff, which will help the treatment of various conditions, not just cancer. The first application of the supercomputer will work with 1,500 lung cancer cases, to help clinicians and analysts to interpret the masses of research available. This is a breakthrough technology which will make the most of the big data and aid the challenge ahead of fighting cancer in its many forms.
Cancer is a disease which affects millions of people across the world, of all ages, and can be fatal if not caught early. Studies such as this which create new and innovative technologies could prove to be the future of cancer treatment, to help millions of people tackle this condition. You should be aware of the most prominent symptoms of cancer so that you are aware of any signs that you have the disease, such as lumps in the breast tissue, for example. If you are concerned about any symptoms that you have, or would like some more advice about what to look out for, you should speak to your GP who can advise you further.
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