IBM, Nuance to apply Watson analytics technology to healthcare

By eGovInnovation Editors | Feb 21, 2011

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MASSACHUSSETTS - IBM and Nuance Communications recently announced a research agreement to explore, develop and commercialize the Watson computing system's advanced analytics capabilities in the healthcare industry.

The initiative will combine IBM’s Deep Question Answering (QA), Natural Language Processing, and Machine Learning capabilities with Nuance's speech recognition and Clinical Language Understanding (CLU) solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of patients.

Columbia University Medical Center and the University of Maryland School of Medicine are also contributing their medical expertise and research to the collaborative effort.

Watson's ability to analyze the meaning and context of human language, and quickly process information to find precise answers can assist decision makers, such as physicians and nurses, unlock important knowledge and facts buried within huge volumes of information, and offer answers they may not have considered helping validate their own ideas or hypotheses.

"Combining our analytics expertise with the experience and technology of Nuance, we can transform the way that healthcare professionals accomplish everyday tasks by enabling them to work smarter and more efficiently,” said Dr. John E. Kelly III, senior vice president and director of IBM Research.

A doctor considering a patient's diagnosis could use Watson's analytics technology, in conjunction with Nuance’s voice and clinical language understanding solutions, to rapidly consider all the related texts, reference materials, prior cases, and latest knowledge in journals and medical literature to gain evidence from many more potential sources than previously possible.

“The combination of Nuance’s speech recognition and existing Clinical Language Understanding solutions with the power of IBM’s Watson technology will introduce unmatched clinical information and analytic technological advancements for healthcare,” said Paul Ricci, chairman and CEO of Nuance.  

Under the agreement, IBM and Nuance will jointly invest in a multi-year research initiative targeted to the applications of the Watson technology to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of patients in combination with Nuance’s voice and clinical language solutions. 

The two companies expect the first commercial offerings from the collaboration to be available in 18-24 months.