IBM is buying two health database management start-ups and is partnering with major players like Johnson & Johnson,Medtronic PLC and Apple, to allow them to use their Watson Health Cloud system toshare and medical of data. The company says the HIPAA-compliant system will let physicians, researchers, insurers and health solutions companies have secure access to patient data that will help them better understand medical conditions on an individual level.

Harnessing the power of Big Data using cloud systems has been trending over the past few years as companies like [Amazon.com Inc.] and Microsoft have already been touting their respective health care cloud services. However, IBM's announcement it is partnering with companies like Apple and Medtronic could be a game-changer. It says the agreements are non-exclusive and it is looking forward to partnering with other potential companies interested in its Watson system.

The company's April 13 notice is just the most recent development in its plan to bring cloud-based medical data systems to the health care system. In 2013 it announced it was working with the Cleveland Clinic to use its Watson computer, famous for playing "Jeopardy!," to compile and analyze medical data to develop health questions that could help improve patient outcomes. (See Also see "Watson, M.D.: How IBM And Cleveland Clinic Are Working To Reboot Health Care With Supercomputing" - Medtech Insight, 4 November, 2013..)

Now IBM has also bought Explorys, a health care computing platform company that spun out of the Cleveland Clinic, and plans to buy Texas-based Phytel, which develops integrated population health management software. The companies will become part of its Watson Health Unit to help strengthen its cloud system and improve its software solutions.

Taking Control Of Device Data

IBM is betting technologies such as fitness trackers, implanatables and other medical devices will become more prevalent and expects the average person to generate more than a million gigabytes of health data during their lifetime which translates to about 300 million books. While producing tons of data, these devices often work independent from electronic health records and clinical research databases, and don't include patient genomic profiles, which mean there is potential for a "highly scalable and secure global information platform" to connect the data and physicians better evidence-based treatment options, according to the company.

“All this data can be overwhelming for providers and patients alike, but it also presents an unprecedented opportunity to transform the ways in which we manage our health,” said John Kelly, IBM senior vice president of solutions portfolio and research. “Only IBM has the advanced cognitive capabilities of Watson and can pull together the vast ecosystem of partners, practitioners and researchers needed to drive change, as well as to provide the open, secure and scalable platform needed to make it all possible.”

In particular, IBM says the Watson Health Cloud will provide a secure cloud-based platform and analytics tool for consumers using Apple's HealthKit and ResearchKit.

With Johnson & Johnson, the company says it will develop a cloud-based mobile "intelligent coaching system" that uses Watson's cognitive capabilities to help patients before and after operations such as joint replacement and spinal surgeries. According to IBM, Johnson & Johnson is also considering launching new health apps for chronic conditions that account for about 80 percent of the $7 trillion health care spending globally.

Similarly, Medtronic says it will work with IBM and use its Watson Health Cloud to develop a "new generation of personalized diabetes management solutions." The company's wearable diabetes devices such as its insulin pumps and continuous glucose meters gather patient data and can analyze it in real-time which according to Medtronic creates an opportunity to anonymously combine the information with other sources of data such as electronic health records, health insurance claims and demographic data to uncover patterns and develop predictive health risk models.

Medtronic will also collaborate with IBM Watson to improve closed-loop algorithms that will be necessary for the automated communication between glucose monitors and insulin pumps that will form the basis of an artificial pancreas, Medtronic says.

Another major player that has been making waves in the medical Big Data arena is Qualcomm. Recently, it has announced partnerships with major companies such as Roche and Novartis.

Roche plans to use Qualcomm's 2net Platform to gather patient data from its diagnostic devices, starting with anticoagulation meters. Initially, the company says it will start transmitting patient information from anticoagulation meters using the platform, which will then supply the aggregated data to Roche’s cloud-based back-end services where it can be shared by clinicians treating patients with chronic diseases to develop care decisions and potentially lower cost. Ultimately, Roche says their goal is to aggregate data from a host of different devices. (See [A#01150202012].)

With Novartis, Qualcomm is working to gather data from a trial involving patients with lung disease using the 2net Platform and has developed a joint-venture to fund $100 million on emerging technologies, products and services that could improve health care delivery and treatment efficacy. (See [A#01150119005].)

IBM Makes Big Health Care Splash With J&J, Medtronic, Apple

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