IBM has announced that its artificial intelligence system Watson will be used to speed up diagnosis and treatment of cancer in 21 hospitals across China, where the disease currently leads to 2.8 million deaths per year.
In a press release, the US tech giant revealed that, in partnership with the Beijing-based Hangzhou CognitiveCare, it will deploy Watson for Oncology for the 12 institutions. The hospitals will be able to use Watson to cut waiting times and offer more personalized treatment options.
This greater personalization will be possible as the hospitals will have access to a database including up-to-date genetic information from, IBM says, “more than 300 medical journals, more than 200 textbooks, and nearly 15 million pages” displaying medical content.
This roll-out of Watson will also help doctors to better draw upon new and emerging oncology research and keep updated concerning best practices in treatment. IBM developed Watson for Oncology in collaboration with the globally renowned cancer center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
“IBM is committed to working with CognitiveCare as the first mover in China to bring Watson Health technologies into this market,” declared Deborah DiSanzo, general manager for IBM Watson Health.
