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IBM, Apple and J&J partner in cloud-based digital health initiative


IBM has launched a cloud-based platform for sharing and analysing health data in partnership with Apple, Johnston & Johnston and medical technology company Medtronics.

The collaboration, which is open to other organisations to join, is aimed at building a central bank of different health data sets and enabling insights from the information to be gleaned to help improve health care. The data could also be used by medical researchers to inform their research and by insurers and health and fitness app developers to deliver improved products and services.

IBM said the initiative could enable personalised treatments by making use of the more than one million gigabytes of health-related data that is generated about each person during their lifetime. It announced that it has acquired two companies experienced in harnessing big data in the health sector, Explorys and Phytel, to enhance its data analytics offering.

"It is difficult to connect these dynamic and constantly growing pools of information with more traditional sources such as doctor-created medical records, clinical research and individual genomes – data sets that are fragmented and not easily shared," IBM said. "A highly scalable and secure global information platform is essential to pull out individualised insights to help people and providers make timely, evidence-based decisions about health-related issues."

Under the new arrangement, users of health and fitness apps on Apple devices can upload their health data to IBM's Watson Health Cloud platform on an opt-in basis. That data would be then be anonymised and be combined with "a dynamic and constantly-growing aggregated view of clinical, research and social health data" and made available to doctors, medical researchers and insurers to study, IBM said.

Johnston & Johnston will develop mobile-based "intelligent coaching systems centered on preoperative and postoperative patient care" and could also launch new health apps specifically for patients suffering from chronic conditions.

Medtronic will use the insights it gleans from the health data gathered in the Watson Health Cloud to create "highly-personalised care management solutions for people with diabetes". The technology developed will record and analyse data from medical devices such as insulin pumps and glucose monitors and be used to "provide dynamic, personalised diabetes management strategies to patients and their providers".

Michael Rhodin, senior vice president of IBM Watson, said: "The groundbreaking applications of Watson’s cognitive computing capabilities by medical clients and partners clearly demonstrated the potential to fundamentally change the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare delivery worldwide. We’re excited to broaden access to world-class technology and to work with our partners to transform health and wellness for millions of people."   

In the UK a government-backed Innovative Medicines and Medical Technology Review has been launched which is expected to recommend reforms that can deliver accelerated access to new medicines and medical technologies, such as medical devices and diagnostics, for NHS patients.

The review will "consider advances in digital technology, stratified medicines and their partner diagnostics, digital devices, apps and new therapeutic technologies", and look into "whether current funding structures and ways of working best support innovation".

According to paper published last year by Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, there are regulatory challenges around the move towards more 'stratified medicines', which involves looking into whether tailored treatments can improve treatment of illnesses suffered by small groups of patients who have the same genetic makeup.

"The current approach to regulation of medicines poses particular challenges in the era of ‘stratified medicines’ which involves looking at smaller groups of patients to try and find ways of predicting which treatments particular illnesses (e.g. cancers) are likely to respond to," the 'Connectivity in the Life Sciences and Healthcare Sectors' paper (20-page / 1.58MB PDF) said.

"There are practical challenges in building the clinical evidence base necessary for approval under current regulatory mechanisms where patient populations are very small," it said. "The current regulatory and HTA (Health Technology Assessment) processes and policies need to evolve in response to, and in anticipation of, scientific developments that will be critical for the development of a stratified and more personalised approach to precision medicines."

 

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