IBM Watson Health to Invest USD 50 Million for Advancing AI in Healthcare
|
By HospiMedica International staff writers Posted on 01 Mar 2019 |
IBM Watson Health (Armonk, NY, USA) plans to invest USD 50 million in joint research collaborations with Brigham and Women’s Hospital — the teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School — and Vanderbilt University Medical Center over a 10-year period to advance the science of artificial intelligence (AI) and its application to major public health issues.
The scientific collaborations will focus on critical health problems that are ideally suited for AI solutions. Initial areas of study are expected to include the use of AI to improve the utility of electronic health records (EHRs) and claims data to address significant public health issues like patient safety, precision medicine and health equity. The research will also explore physician and patient user experience and interactions with AI technologies.
“Building on the MIT-IBM Watson Lab announced last year, this collaboration is part of IBM Watson Health’s longstanding commitment to scientific research and our belief that working together with the world’s leading institutions is the fastest path to develop, advance, and understand practical solutions that solve some of the world’s biggest health challenges,” said Kyu Rhee, MD, vice president and chief health officer at IBM Watson Health. “Today, for example, physicians are spending an average of two hours with their electronic health records and deskwork for every hour of patient care, a phenomenon the American Medical Association says is leading to a steady increase in physician burnout. AI is the most powerful technology we have today to tackle issues like this one, but there is still a great deal of work to be done to demystify the real role of AI in healthcare with practical, proven results and clear-cut best practices. By putting the full force of our clinical and research team together with two of the world’s leading academic medical centers, we will dramatically accelerate the development of real-world AI solutions that improve workflow efficiencies and outcomes.”
“We all know that the future of health belongs to AI but, today, health around the globe is siloed and not actionable making timely insights difficult to obtain,” said David Bates, MD, MS, chief of general internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Through AI, we have an opportunity to do better and our hope is to find new ways through science and partnerships with industry leaders like Watson Health to unlock the full potential of AI to improve the utility of the EHR and claims data to address major public health issues like patient safety.”
Related Links:
IBM Watson Health
The scientific collaborations will focus on critical health problems that are ideally suited for AI solutions. Initial areas of study are expected to include the use of AI to improve the utility of electronic health records (EHRs) and claims data to address significant public health issues like patient safety, precision medicine and health equity. The research will also explore physician and patient user experience and interactions with AI technologies.
“Building on the MIT-IBM Watson Lab announced last year, this collaboration is part of IBM Watson Health’s longstanding commitment to scientific research and our belief that working together with the world’s leading institutions is the fastest path to develop, advance, and understand practical solutions that solve some of the world’s biggest health challenges,” said Kyu Rhee, MD, vice president and chief health officer at IBM Watson Health. “Today, for example, physicians are spending an average of two hours with their electronic health records and deskwork for every hour of patient care, a phenomenon the American Medical Association says is leading to a steady increase in physician burnout. AI is the most powerful technology we have today to tackle issues like this one, but there is still a great deal of work to be done to demystify the real role of AI in healthcare with practical, proven results and clear-cut best practices. By putting the full force of our clinical and research team together with two of the world’s leading academic medical centers, we will dramatically accelerate the development of real-world AI solutions that improve workflow efficiencies and outcomes.”
“We all know that the future of health belongs to AI but, today, health around the globe is siloed and not actionable making timely insights difficult to obtain,” said David Bates, MD, MS, chief of general internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Through AI, we have an opportunity to do better and our hope is to find new ways through science and partnerships with industry leaders like Watson Health to unlock the full potential of AI to improve the utility of the EHR and claims data to address major public health issues like patient safety.”
Related Links:
IBM Watson Health
Latest AI News
Channels
Critical Care
view channel
Novel Pill Could Mimic Health Benefits of Bariatric Surgery
More than 37 million Americans live with type 2 diabetes, the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. While lifestyle changes and insulin therapy can help manage the condition, bariatric surgery... Read more
AI Models Identify Patient Groups at Risk of Being Mistreated in Hospital ED
Triage errors in emergency departments can have life-or-death consequences, but identifying the root causes behind these errors has long been a challenge. Now, a team of researchers has applied machine... Read more
CPR Guidelines Updated for Pediatric and Neonatal Emergency Care and Resuscitation
Cardiac arrest in infants and children remains a leading cause of pediatric emergencies, with more than 7,000 out-of-hospital and 20,000 in-hospital cardiac arrests occurring annually in the United States.... Read moreSurgical Techniques
view channel
New Nanomaterial Improves Laser Lithotripsy for Removing Kidney Stones
Kidney stones affect nearly 11% of Americans, causing severe pain and driving billions in annual healthcare costs. During laser lithotripsy, urologists use a laser to break these stones into small fragments... Read more
Safer Hip Implant Design Prevents Early Femoral Fractures
Femoral fractures remain one of the most serious complications after total hip replacement (THR)—a surgery performed about one million times each year worldwide to relieve pain and restore mobility.... Read more
Ultraflexible Neurovascular Microcatheter Delivers Therapies to Tiniest Blood Vessels
Reaching the brain’s tiniest blood vessels—often thinner than a human hair—has long challenged doctors performing delicate procedures such as removing clots, stopping bleeding, or delivering localized chemotherapy.... Read more
Magnetic Soft Robotic Valve Provides Minimally Invasive Intervention for Acid Reflux
Millions of people worldwide suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a chronic condition in which stomach acid flows back into the esophagus due to a weak or malfunctioning lower esophageal sphincter.... Read morePatient Care
view channel
Revolutionary Automatic IV-Line Flushing Device to Enhance Infusion Care
More than 80% of in-hospital patients receive intravenous (IV) therapy. Every dose of IV medicine delivered in a small volume (<250 mL) infusion bag should be followed by subsequent flushing to ensure... Read more
VR Training Tool Combats Contamination of Portable Medical Equipment
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) impact one in every 31 patients, cause nearly 100,000 deaths each year, and cost USD 28.4 billion in direct medical expenses. Notably, up to 75% of these infections... Read more
Portable Biosensor Platform to Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections
Approximately 4 million patients in the European Union acquire healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) or nosocomial infections each year, with around 37,000 deaths directly resulting from these infections,... Read moreFirst-Of-Its-Kind Portable Germicidal Light Technology Disinfects High-Touch Clinical Surfaces in Seconds
Reducing healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) remains a pressing issue within global healthcare systems. In the United States alone, 1.7 million patients contract HAIs annually, leading to approximately... Read moreHealth IT
view channel
Printable Molecule-Selective Nanoparticles Enable Mass Production of Wearable Biosensors
The future of medicine is likely to focus on the personalization of healthcare—understanding exactly what an individual requires and delivering the appropriate combination of nutrients, metabolites, and... Read moreBusiness
view channel
Philips and Masimo Partner to Advance Patient Monitoring Measurement Technologies
Royal Philips (Amsterdam, Netherlands) and Masimo (Irvine, California, USA) have renewed their multi-year strategic collaboration, combining Philips’ expertise in patient monitoring with Masimo’s noninvasive... Read more
B. Braun Acquires Digital Microsurgery Company True Digital Surgery
The high-end microsurgery market in neurosurgery, spine, and ENT is undergoing a significant transformation. Traditional analog microscopes are giving way to digital exoscopes, which provide improved visualization,... Read more
CMEF 2025 to Promote Holistic and High-Quality Development of Medical and Health Industry
The 92nd China International Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF 2025) Autumn Exhibition is scheduled to be held from September 26 to 29 at the China Import and Export Fair Complex (Canton Fair Complex) in Guangzhou.... Read more







