Elekta, IBM Watson Health Pool Resources to Bring AI Capabilities to Cancer Care
Cancer is responsible for one in six deaths around the world, and each year there are more than 14 million new cancer cases worldwide. As healthcare providers and systems seek to enable data-driven, evidence-based cancer care, an explosion of medical information has created both challenges and opportunities to help improve quality of care.
In this direction, Stockholm-based Elektaa, a developer of equipment and software used to provide care to oncology patients, has now partnered with IBM Watson Health to bring artificial intelligence solutions to comprehensive oncology care.
Under the terms of a new agreement, Elekta will sell Watson for Oncology beginning in early 2018 as a clinical decision support solution paired within Elekta’s digital cancer care solutions, including the MOSAIQ Oncology Information System.
The offering is designed to help healthcare professionals manage radiation care programs by centralizing information and providing users with image, data and workflow management. Elekta thinks Watson for Oncology will complement these capabilities by providing clinical decision support.
The Swedish medical equipment maker is planning to offer both the platforms in the majority of the markets, including the US, Brazil, India, Australia, and select European
and Asian countries.For IBM, the agreement gives it another way to get Watson into healthcare settings. The oncology offering is now in more than 150 hospitals, according to IBM. Uptake needs to increase to justify the decision to make health a key driver of future growth at the company. Elekta, which claims to hold close to 50% of the market for oncology-specific EMRs, could help in that regard.
Elekta CEO Richard Hausmann said: “Joining forces with IBM Watson Health positions Elekta as the first radiation therapy company to offer capabilities that combine conventional health information systems with AI and cognitive cloud computing.
“Our goal is to bring cutting-edge AI technology to the cancer care continuum, including treatment planning, enabling evidence-based treatment recommendations for every patient regardless of where they are treated.”
IBM Watson Health oncology and life sciences vice-president Lisa Rometty said: “Oncologists around the world rely on MOSAIQ to support the treatment pathway, and we are eager to extend Watson for Oncology to more physicians and patients globally through Elekta’s sophisticated digital oncology solutions.”
