Locations:
SearchThe organizations are kicking off research projects in the US and UK using the latest technologies to study epilepsy and the impact of hospital interventions
images: 2
video: 0
audio: 0
text: 0
Content is property of Cleveland Clinic and for news media use only.
Cleveland and London: Cleveland Clinic, IBM and the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Hartree Centre in the UK have announced an innovative collaboration aimed at advancing healthcare and biomedical science through advanced computing technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing.
“This international collaboration brings together a multidisciplinary team of scientists, clinical researchers and physicians from across industry, government and healthcare,” said Lara Jehi, M.D., MHCDS, Chief Research Information Officer at Cleveland Clinic. “The research teams will leverage high performance and quantum computing to advance life sciences, with the goal of improving healthcare and accelerating new treatments for patients around the world. Cleveland Clinic London will be a central link between innovative clinical care in the UK and Cleveland Clinic’s global footprint.”
“This partnership will play an important role in advancing research into the use of cutting-edge computation in healthcare and life sciences,” said Alessandro Curioni, IBM Fellow and Director, IBM Research Zurich.“We look forward to working with researchers from Cleveland Clinic London and the Hartree Centre to explore promising areas of discovery across quantum computing, AI and beyond.”
Two clinical research projects have been launched to kick-start the new collaboration. They will be led by Dr. Jehi, an epilepsy researcher, and Charles Knowles, Ph.D., Chief Academic Officer at Cleveland Clinic London, working closely with teams from IBM and Hartree Centre. The projects will be supported by the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation, a collaboration between IBM and Hartree Centre.
The first project, led by Dr. Knowles and supported by the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation, will apply advanced AI tools to objectively quantify the impact of care on patients at Cleveland Clinic London. Researchers from IBM, Hartree Centre and Cleveland Clinic will examine how common hospital procedures affect a patient's overall health and quality of life, with the goal of enhancing patient outcomes.
Initially, the team will explore clinical and advanced imaging data provided by Cleveland Clinic London BioResource, a repository which provides patients with the opportunity to consent to enhanced longitudinal data collection and analysis. The researchers plan to use this pilot study to develop larger AI models that can integrate multiple types of data for analysis across different diseases, ultimately aiming to improve understanding and patient care.
Cleveland Clinic London’s BioResource is unique for a private healthcare provider in the UK in gaining research approval from the UK’s National Research Ethics Service (Health Research Authority). The BioResource is one of 28 studies, including several NHS portfolio trials now open at Cleveland Clinic London with over 600 patients recruited so far. This year, Cleveland Clinic London will expand its clinical research studies and the number of patients enrolled in the BioResource.
The second project, led by Dr. Jehi in collaboration with IBM and the Hartree Centre, will apply quantum computing to analyze large-scale data sets to identify molecular features in the body that better predict surgical response in patients with epilepsy. The objective is to uncover novel biomarkers that can be used to personalize treatment plans and improve patient outcomes.
Epilepsy is the most common chronic noncommunicable brain disease, affecting more than 60 million patients worldwide. For approximately one-third of patients, anti-seizure medications are unable to control the disease and brain surgery offers the best chance for a cure.
Dr. Jehi’s project is an example of the cutting-edge biomedical research challenges now tackled at Cleveland Clinic through the organization’s strategic partnership with IBM - Discovery Accelerator - which combines Cleveland Clinic’s renowned expertise in healthcare and biomedical research with IBM’s next-generation technologies to accelerate research. Through the partnership, IBM last year deployed IBM Quantum System One at Cleveland Clinic, the first quantum computer in the world dedicated to healthcare research.
Dr. Jehi will be a featured speaker at the third annual Economist Impact Commercializing Quantum Global 2024 conference in London on June 6. Her project on leveraging quantum for the discovery of biomarkers of epilepsy brain surgery outcomes will be highlighted as an example of how quantum computing can be used to advance precision medicine.
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. Cleveland Clinic is consistently recognized in the U.S. and throughout the world for its expertise and care. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 81,000 employees worldwide are more than 5,743 salaried physicians and researchers, and 20,160 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,690-bed health system that includes a 173-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 23 hospitals, 276 outpatient facilities, including locations in northeast Ohio; Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2023, there were 13.7 million outpatient encounters, 323,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 301,000 surgeries and procedures throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 132 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at twitter.com/CleClinicNews. News and resources available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org.
Editor’s Note: Cleveland Clinic News Service is available to provide broadcast-quality interviews and B-roll upon request.
