This computer system is most easily recognizable for taking on some of the biggest names to ever play the game show “Jeopardy!” and winning handily. If you said “Who is Watson?”, then you're not only familiar with “Jeopardy!”, but you've also guessed the subject of the article. IBM put Watson to work in the medical sector after its big win on the “Jeopardy!” circuit, where it took down no less than mastermind Ken Jennings as well as champion Brad Rutter. Now, Watson has a new opponent: cancer.
Watson's cancer-fighting abilities don't come from new techniques or new medications, but rather from its ability to rapidly absorb and analyze massive quantities of data. Since Watson can operate via the cloud, there's also the added benefit of hospitals not having to buy a Watson in order to take advantage of that incredible data-processing ability. Instead, they can simply buy time to access Watson's capabilities. So far, IBM has set up deals with the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and the Wellpoint company to bring Watson into play. Further reports suggest that this is just the early stages of a much wider rollout, in which Watson will be on the front lines for several hospitals, providing access to its opinion on anything related to the field of oncology.
Just two years ago, not long after its huge win on “Jeopardy!,” IBM announced that Watson had effectively “learned” as much about medicine as the typical med student in his or her second year, and Watson has only kept on learning from there. The three principals involved in the most recent deal – IBM, Wellpoint and Sloan-Kettering – have been hard at work teaching Watson how to focus on medical knowledge that's been peer-reviewed, and that's given Watson a massive amount of information to further its studies. Watson has reportedly taken in over 600,000 pieces of medical evidence and over two million pages' worth of medical journals and has the ability to rapidly search 1.5 million patient records in matters related to breast, lung and prostate cancer, though more types are set to follow.
So far, Watson is having the same kind of field day against its human counterparts that it had on “Jeopardy!,” with a successful diagnosis rate of 90 percent, as compared to the 50 percent rate its human colleagues generate. This, in turn, will likely cut the 30 percent of the annual $2.3 trillion spent on healthcare simply goes to waste. But, with significantly improved diagnoses, the end result is likely a welcome one for both patients and hospitals alike, who will have to pursue far fewer diagnoses that end up less than correct.
Between Watson's impressive library of knowledge, and its ability to understand “natural language” – the standard spoken English most of us use every day – the ability to get just the right diagnosis and treatment options for a given situation with a confidence rate of around 90 percent should indeed improve healthcare if put into wide use.
Though Watson may not prove to be a magic bullet solution to all of healthcare's issues, the idea of reducing waste and reducing costs, which in turn should reduce costs for patients, should be well worth considering and putting into practice. It's a safe bet that Watson as doctor will have plenty of takers, looking to present quicker and more accurate diagnoses and treatment options. Thus, Watson's dance card should be full for the foreseeable future.
Edited by
Blaise McNamee
