5 Practical Ways IBM Watson Is Improving Healthcare Efficiency

Watson, the learning A.I. that can learn anything.  Unrestrained by the boundaries of the human mind, Watson has no learning deficiencies and no limits to its ability to retain information.  The medical community has been left awestruck by the groundbreaking implications of IBM’s Watson.

Watson was first introduced to the public in 2011, when it made its debut on the popular game show, Jeopardy.  Ken Jennings’ 74-game winning streak came to an abrupt halt when he went up against this astute machine.

Now, a mere 6 years later, this supercomputer is saving lives with its insane ability to process and analyze information.  Here are a few practical ways in which IBM Watson is improving healthcare efficiency and saving lives.

Watson in Oncology

Watson is being used in collaboration with New York’s Memorial Sloan kettering Cancer Center to provide individualized cancer treatment regimens for affected patients.  Watson is trained to provide medical assertions and recovery/treatment plans based on the most recent medical research, clinical practices, trials, and founded evidence.

These specifics are considered in tandem with the individual patient’s medical and genetic history.  Watson began with only the knowledge to treat breast cancer and lung cancer, but has since evolved to offer treatment for all cancers; solid and blood.

Watson and Medtronic

World statistics show that there are over 300 million people around the globe suffering from diabetes.  IBM Watson is now capable of providing preventative and proactive treatment and nutritional plans for patients diagnosed with diabetes.

IBM partnered with Medtronic to develop an app that will help to coach patients with diabetes through their day, and help them to make more educated decisions regarding their health.  Watson and Medtronic created diabetes management at its best.

Watson takes massive amounts of data into account when formulating the perfect plan for each patient: medical records, health data, and even insurance claims.  By developing pattern recognition, Watson can inform a patient of a dangerous health event hours before it occurs.

Merge Healthcare and IBM Watson

IBM recently purchased Merge Healthcare for a cool $1 million.  Acquiring Merge gave IBM and Watson instant access to billions of medical images.  The images come from all over the U.S., from more than 7,500 hospitals; an information gold mine for the supercomputer Watson.

Watson’s informed digital eye will have the chance to spot abnormalities and patterns that doctors have missed along the way.  There hopes are that IBM’s A.I. will eventually study and diagnose melanoma, which is difficult for the human eye to diagnose due to the many ways in which it may materialize.

Watson understands a person’s genetic profile

In many medical situations, time is of the essence.  In oncology, especially, it takes doctors time to prepare a well-informed treatment profile for a patient.  With IBM’s Watson, it will take a matter of minutes for the A.I. to process the patient’s information, and derive a well-planned treatment protocol.

Watson has grown its intelligence to be able to look over a person’s DNA profile within minutes, and pick out individual strengths and weaknesses.  Watson’s ability to dramatically reduce treatment preparation timelines can and will save many future lives.

Watson gives nutritional advice to pregnant women

IBM and the healthy eating app developer, Neutrino, worked together to collaboratively create the app that guides pregnant women through their nutritional needs during the length of their pregnancy.  A healthier diet produces a healthier baby.

Eating healthy throughout your pregnancy can give your unborn child a head up in life before they have even begun.  The developed smartphone app gives pregnant women all-day nutritional recommendations and 24 hour support.

Pregnant users can input their pregnancy status, health goals, dietary preferences, dietary habits (whether they are good or bad, be honest), and even transfer health data from other wearable devices like your Apple watch or FitBit.