Technology Declares War On Cancer
Cancer will cause more than half a million deaths in the US this year. Here's how smart pills, IBM Watson, customized treatments, and even social media are helping patients fight for their health.
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From simple apps to sophisticated solutions, technology plays an increasingly important role in diagnosing and treating cancer.
For decades, pharmaceutical companies have invested heavily in IT, using these systems to push their research and development teams to earlier discoveries in the quest for new cures. Now, less expensive -- yet even more powerful -- tools are providing healthcare professionals, patients, and the general public with ways to join the fray against a disease expected to kill an estimated 585,720 people in the United States this year.
Advances in gene sequencing and genomics have reduced the cost of research and treatment, speeding time to market and improving outcomes. The growing number of options is helping healthcare providers create more affordable personalized treatment plans, based on factors such as the type of cancer, size and age of growth, and the patient's medical history.
Personalization is at the core of a synthetic biology skunkworks project that Autodesk is undertaking. Led by Andrew Hessel, a team of designers, scientists, and programmers hopes to build hardware and software that makes it easier to design and fabricate living things, even human organs, according to BusinessWeek. Because each cancer tumor has its own DNA, Hessel wants to create tools that "synthesize viruses that will attack only cells carrying specific genetic markers," he told BusinessWeek. And because each medicine would be designed specifically for each patient, the US Food and Drug Administration would not need to get involved, Hessel noted, simplifying the process and making it accessible to non-pharmaceutical and non-medical organizations.
Testing is becoming more accessible, too, thanks to "smart" pills. Tiny cameras disguised as caplets replace uncomfortable procedures such as colonoscopies. Wirelessly transmitting data, these miniature devices don't require sedation, eliminating down time and loss of productivity in addition to increasing compliance with doctors' orders.
The cancer community is enjoying better collaboration via more traditional methods, too. Practitioner-oriented social media simplifies communication between researchers, physicians, oncologists, and pharmaceutical professionals, removing old barriers and letting caregivers educate themselves on powerful new tools and treatments available for patients. Venture-capital-funded startup SharePractice, for example, melds the diagnoses, medication, and dosage information of an Epocrates-like app with the crowd knowledge of Yelp and the social media features of Doximity, said founder Dr. Andrew Brandeis, in an interview.
Launched in November 2013, the community has about 5,000 members, he said. They include physicians and nurses, as well as nutritionists, pharmacists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, and other professionals charged with taking care of patients' health, including those fighting cancer.
"Everyone's talking about evidence-based medicine. We're an experience-based medicine," said Brandeis. "Most of these other social networks for doctors are not clinical reference tools; they're forums that only let doctors in. The same question gets repeated every few weeks. There's no good way of structuring their knowledge. In SharePractice, you just share [a question] and the treatment protocols are listed right there: Here are the protocols and here are the rankings of the protocols but if what you're familiar with is not there, you can add it. SharePractice gives clinical value because the information we share is so easily searched, it's structured, and it has the information you need to write a prescription for your patient."
Computers are breaking new ground, too. From miniscule computers developed by the Weizmann Institute of Science to advances in genomics, scientists are shrinking devices' sizes and expanding computers' capabilities to combat cancer's reach. Take a look at the innovative solutions we've found by clicking through our slideshow.
Do you know of other technological resources available to healthcare providers and patients in the war against cancer? Share your experiences in the comments section.
Android users can lend their smartphones' processing power to help University of Vienna researchers crunch through the Similarity Matrix of Proteins (SIMAP) database that computes similarities between various protein sequences, according to Quartz. This is a first step in discovering cures for cancer -- but demands a lot of processing power, researchers said.
With the Power Sleep app for Android phones -- written by the university and Samsung Austria -- users plug in their phones at night, connect to WiFi, and donate the power. A built-in alarm knows that you are no longer using the device, developers said.
Don't have an Android smartphone? World Community Grid volunteers download a small research assignment to their computer or mobile phone when it has the capacity to do more work, such as when they are away or checking email. The device then feeds back the answers to WCG, which relays responses to individual researchers who analyze the data for patterns, draw insight, and share findings with other scientists. In February, one researcher unveiled a breakthrough in the search for a new treatment for childhood cancer, thanks in part to volunteers' support of the research.
Dr. Akira Nakagawara (right), principal investigator for Help Fight Childhood Cancer and president, Chiba Cancer Center, got help from World Community Grid volunteers who donated processing power to his research.
(Source: World Community Grid)
This month, Given Imaging received FDA approval for its capsule camera technology, which can image the large intestine. Designed to visualize the colon for prevention or diagnoses of colon cancer, it's also useful for conditions such as Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the company said. PillCam Colon 2 measures pressure, pH, and temperature as it travels through a patient's gastrointestinal tract to assess motility. The capsule eliminates patient exposure to radiation, and allows patients to resume most normal activities while it collects data, Given Imaging said.
The capsule measures 11.6 by 31.5 millimeters and captures color video, which it records for between eight and 10 hours. It takes about 30,000 images, which are then made into a video for the doctor to review. A ring of four to six LEDs provides the illumination required to capture the patient's GI tract. PillCam includes a silver oxide battery, RF transmitter and antenna, two image sensors, and two circuit boards, and it can detect objects such as cysts as small as 0.7 mm. The capsule transmits data in real time to a recorder the patient wears on a shoulder strap or belt.
(Source: Given Imaging)
Within seconds, a new app can screen patients for skin cancer with an 85% accuracy rate. Developed by professor of engineering technology George Zouridakis of the University of Houston, DermoScreen is currently undergoing testing but one day could allow patients to quickly and inexpensively receive melanoma screenings via their iPhones.
The patient photographs a suspicious mole or lesion, then runs it through the app. The solution requires a dermoscope, a $500 magnifying lens. If the software determines a patient might have cancer, it refers the patient for a follow-up. DermoScreen's accuracy is on par with dermatologists' 90% accuracy and higher than that of general practitioners, who are right between 50% and 70% of the time, the university found.
(Source: University of Houston)
The New York Genome Center, one of IBM Watson's newest partners, is using the cognitive system to help oncologists bring more personalized care to cancer patients. NYGC and partners are specifically targeting people battling glioblastoma, an aggressive and malignant brain cancer that kills more than 13,000 people in the U.S. each year.
Using Watson, oncology professionals hope to speed up the way data is correlated from genome sequencing to reams of published medical information. NYGC's teams tap the cloud-based IBM system to analyze genetic information, biomedical literature, and drug databases; continuously learn from this data; and then help oncologists design custom treatments for patients.
(Source: IBM)
RainTree Oncology Services developed a cloud-based analytics portal that allows pharmaceutical companies to gather clinical and administrative information from community oncology practices. Participating practices use the data -- including information on oncology medications, pharmacy dispensing rates, selected lab data, and claims adjudication summaries -- to identify clinical patterns and patient treatment pathways, the company said.
Called OncoExplorer, the portal is built on Information Builders business intelligence software platform, said Scott Skellenger, RainTree CIO, in an interview. Within seven months, RainTree developed the portal product and now offers it to pharmaceutical company subscribers for HIPAA-compliant research and commercial purposes to chronicle the patient journey from the time they are diagnosed through treatment and outcomes, he said.
Currently, the database includes more than 330,000 patients searchable via ICD-9 codes to identify the type of cancer. Target markets include both pharmaceutical companies and oncology member practices, Skellenger said. "We're in development on the practice tools side, to enhance support for practice management and reporting, as well as continuing to develop richer research tools for the pharmaceutical industry to help it see the opportunities for product development and improvement of patient lives."
Cancer Research UK enlists the help of the general public to analyze genetic data that otherwise would take scientists hours to accomplish. To do this, they developed Play To Cure: Genes In Space, a free mobile app for iPhone and Android, where players collect Element Alpha to help them rise through the ranks at Bifrost Industries. As players map their routes, collect Element Alpha, avoid and shoot asteroids, and upgrade their space ship, they actually plot their way through "genuine DNA microarray data," the organization said in a blog.
Whether they're citizen scientists, kids, or gamers, players use technology developed in partnership with Amazon Web Services, Facebook, and Google, Cancer Research UK said.
(Source: Play To Cure: Genes In Space, Google Play Store)
When Ochsner Health System needed to encourage 3,137 patients to schedule a colonoscopy or upper endoscopy, it received a poor response to mailed communications, and using a 30-person call center was cost prohibitive. Instead, the Louisiana healthcare provider turned to Televox, an engagement communication company that designed an automated interactive voice response (IVR) system that prompted 18% -- or 578 patients -- to schedule their appointment, said Allison Hart, director of the healthy world initiative at Televox, in an interview.
"The patients told Ochsner that without the call they'd never have scheduled the test," she said. "The cost was pennies."
The campaign generated $684,930 in revenue for Oschner, based on the national average of $1,185 per procedure. More importantly, said Hart, since there is a 25% pre-cancerous polyp detection rate, an estimated 145 patients benefited from these examinations. Early detection often saves lives, according to the American Cancer Society.
Given the sheer volume of material available to healthcare professionals, artificial intelligence will become increasingly important to physicians and researchers, pundits predict. AI is part of IBM Watson; it allows the system to learn and quickly locate pertinent data for users.
And that's good news, because AI could cut costs and improve patient outcomes by almost 50%, according to Indiana University research. In fact, cost per unit of outcome was $189 using AI, compared with $497 when using the standard approach, researchers found. The AI approach improved patient outcomes between 30% and 35%, they said. By tweaking certain parameters, outcomes would have improved 50%, researchers noted.
Given the sheer volume of material available to healthcare professionals, artificial intelligence will become increasingly important to physicians and researchers, pundits predict. AI is part of IBM Watson; it allows the system to learn and quickly locate pertinent data for users.
And that's good news, because AI could cut costs and improve patient outcomes by almost 50%, according to Indiana University research. In fact, cost per unit of outcome was $189 using AI, compared with $497 when using the standard approach, researchers found. The AI approach improved patient outcomes between 30% and 35%, they said. By tweaking certain parameters, outcomes would have improved 50%, researchers noted.
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