Could a ‘super computer’ help improve epilepsy care? Yes, it’s elementary my dear WATSON

UCB and IBM have today announced the completion of the initial phase of a pioneering project designed to harness the power of super computers and intelligent analytics with the aim of helping healthcare providers deliver personalized care for people with epilepsy. This exciting milestone marks the critical first step in the path towards eventually harnessing the power of cognitive computing capabilities, such as IBM’s Watson, for patient care.

The two companies are working together to create the most comprehensive bank of scientific literature and patient data on epilepsy ever collated. Both organisations hope this initiative will enable healthcare professionals from around the world to access the latest information to ensure they can offer a more tailored approach to patient care. Upon completion of this project, healthcare providers would be able to combine their own clinical patient assessment with the system’s predictive analytics to determine the probability that specific approaches to care will be successful.

Dr. Iris Löw-Friedrich, Executive Vice-President Global Projects and Development and Chief Medical Officer, UCB said: “UCB focuses on the creation of innovative networks because we recognize that delivering best-in-class solutions to patients requires collaboration with a diverse group of internal and external experts. We have partnered with IBM to explore this concept of streamlining large amounts of data into actionable approaches to epilepsy care.”

UCB has adopted an open innovation model in which internal and external experts collaborate to address unmet needs for people living with severe diseases of the immune system and the central nervous system. As part of its commitment to raising the standard of care for patients, UCB is building these long-term collaborations and super networks with leading researchers and institutions to use cutting-edge scientific research and technology to deliver unique patient solutions.

Epilepsy, one of the most common diseases of the central nervous system, afflicts approximately 65 million people worldwide1. A recent special issue of The Lancet highlighted the significant unmet medical needs in epilepsy and called on public health officials to treat this disease as a global health priority2.

References

1. Epilepsy Foundation, About Epilepsy, http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/aboutepilepsy/
2. The Lancet, New avenues for Epilepsy treatment, The Lancet, Editorial, Volume 11, September 2012