Intel and an Oregon cancer institute launched a pilot network this week that will give healthcare facilities the ability to share DNA and genomic data. This cloud computing technology could result in the creation of personalized cancer treatments that cut medical research time from months to hours, and lower fatality rates.
The partnership was made between the chipmaker giant and the Knight Cancer Institute (KCI) at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). They developed the Collaborative Cancer Cloud (CCC).
The cloud computing tech analyzes huge amounts of global data and then distributes the information, helping to locate hard-to-find personalized treatments that were effective for other cancer patients. It can also maintain the security and privacy of each site's patient data.
KCI director Dr. Brian Druker said that a central location is needed to control patients' genomic data. That is for the treatment of ailments such as cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer's.
The problem is that today's hospitals are not equipped to share digital health data. It is even more limited for specialized medical care as specialists must connect and then share patients' health data.
Scientists spent 13 years to produce the first human genome, at a total cost of $3 billion. Today the same data can be created in hours and for less than $1,000, according to The Market Business. However, the data is at least one terabyte (1,000 gigabytes) in size.
Genetic sequencing has been conducted on less than 2 percent of the world's cancer patients. On top of that, sharing the data is difficult.
The CCC allows doctors to get matches of patients with cancers and genomes similar to their own clients. The patient data is then made secure before being analyzed.
OHSU has plans to launch the CCC in the first quarter of next year. If the test run is successful at the two cancer centers, a data sharing network will be formed that could include hundreds or thousands of facilities.
Other companies are helping researchers to mine cancer patients' data. However, few companies can match Intel's credentials, according to Fierce Biotech IT.