Watson Takes on Cancer: IBM Supercomputer Partners with Memorial Sloan-Kettering

IBM's Watson Supercomputer is getting a new job at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The partnership between IBM and the hospital aims to develop tools that will improve decision-making for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

The Watson supercomputer can read 200 million pages of data in just three seconds, making it an invaluable asset in the medical field. It will work hand-in-hand with doctors to provide evidence-based statistically-ranked responses to complex medical questions.

According to Dr. Martin Kohn, IBM's Chief Medical Scientist, 'Watson will not make actual decisions. It will bring information to the doctor.' The Watson version being designed for the hospital is similar to how it played 'Jeopardy', providing suggestions and strong alternatives based on patients' medical backgrounds.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's Dr. Larry Norton said, 'We are going to work with the machine and teach the machine how to make medical decisions.' The hospital expects Watson to evolve over the next year as it is fed more information about oncology.