Watson, IBM’s cognitive supercomputer (photo) with a massive processing power, handles brutal amounts of information at full speed. It analyzes mountains of unstructured data – be it images, text, audio or video – and makes sense of it, something that a large team of people could not do at the same pace. It can be our best helper to make decisions based on information that we do not have access to due to lack of time to find and assimilate it.
This also applies to medicine, which is why IBM has created Watson Health, a Boston-based business unit that takes advantage of Watson’s capabilities in this field.
Watson Health was born in April 2015 and works with doctors, researchers, pharmacists and other professionals in the sector. The idea is to use the supercomputer to search for information among the growing mountain of clinical, scientific, genetic and personal data that no human being is capable of handling. And from here, offer personalized treatments to each patient.
Weeks’ work done in seconds
Watson’s ability is especially helpful in searching genes for relevant information, strenuous and time-consuming work. Understanding the impact of the genome on tumor development is key. “Normally, cancer arises because there is a genetic mutation that makes the disease progress without the immune system eliminating it,” says Juan Carlos Sánchez, director of Watson Health Spain. That is why one of the legs of this IBM business unit is dedicated to genomics.
Scientists study what effects different mutations or combinations of mutations have on an individual’s cancer. The possibilities are so many and there are so many advances in this field that it is difficult to keep up. “Experts say that there are between 200 and 300 genes identified with some impact or relationship to cancer. Watson studies these genes, identifies the mutations present in a patient using advanced genetic sequencing systems, and provides a report on what is known about it. to each mutation, the possible treatments, clinical trials … That is, identify your mutations, those that have to do with your tumor, and all the options available at that time for each one of them “, explains Sánchez.
A manual task
Usually this is done by hand – an oncologist searches and documents the available information – and in cases where a first treatment has not worked. Watson automates the report preparation process with its cognitive computing system, based on the results of genomic sequencing and all available scientific literature. And it does it much faster: in seconds or minutes, compared to a two or three week job with several specialists.
How can a patient access this service? In Spain this type of analysis is not protocolized and the public health does not finance it. There are also no companies that combine genetic sequencing with Watson’s novel technology. Therefore, it would be necessary to go to foreign companies that already use it, such as the American Quest Diagnostics and Fleury, based in Brazil. And pay good money.
Photo: IBM
You can read the full report on Watson , written by Esther Paniagua, in issue 432 of Muy Interesante.
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