ACADEMIA

NantHealth has announced the launch of a new supercomputer that significantly reduces the time required to do a genomic analysis of a cancer tumor, which could accelerate treatment and improve outcomes, InformationWeek reports.

Details of Supercomputer

The new platform was created over six years with technology from companies such as Verizon, AT&T, Intel and HP. In addition, health IT firm Eviti contributed an oncology clinical decision support platform that shares cancer patient information with physicians and insurers (Lewis, InformationWeek, 10/11).

The supercomputer successfully analyzed more than 6,000 cancer genomes from more than 3,000 patients with 19 different cancer types in 69 hours. That translates to about one patient analysis every 47 seconds, compared with the roughly eight to 10 weeks it currently takes to analyze a cancer tumor (Bowman, FierceHealthIT, 10/3).

Applications of New Technology

The tool allows oncologists to base care decisions on genetics, risk and cost, rather than choosing a treatment option based only on what organ the cancer developed in, according to a company statement (Humer/Begley, Reuters, 10/2).

Patrick Soon-Shiong, chair of NantHealth, said that last year, more than 2,000 oncology practices, including 8,000 oncologists and nurses, installed and used the supercomputer.

He noted that incorrect treatment recommendations by physicians who used the platform dropped from 32% to nearly 0%