IBM Marks More Than 50 Years of Healthcare Technology Leadership

Armonk, NY - 13 Jan 2009: Nearly 60 years after IBM played a major role in developing the heart lung machine, scientists and engineers from IBM Research continue to break new ground in modernizing healthcare. 

In the 1960s, IBM invented the first continuous blood separator, used to treat critically ill leukemia patients.  IBM has also helped develop the field of relaxometry, which plays a role in medical magnetic resonance imagery (MRI), and invented the method for using excimer lasers that eventually became photorefractive (LASIK) eye surgery. 

And this was just the beginning; to this day, IBM continues to make significant contributions to healthcare through technology innovations:

2002
IBM and Mayo Clinic establish clinical trial information system

2003
IBM supercomputer powers melanoma diagnosis tools

CAPTUR4E Centre uses IBM technology to study disease; program links genomic information, environmental influences for improved diagnostics and treatment decisions

2004
IBM introduces World Community Grid; idle computer time serves global humanitarian effort

2005
IBM, University of Pennsylvania grid spawns mammography archive; more than 1 million images enable better diagnostics and treatments for breast cancer

2006
IBM and Scripps conduct advanced research on pandemics to anticipate, manage and contain infectious diseases

IBM brings electronic medical records one step closer through open technology

IBM, public health groups form Global Pandemic Initiative

2007
IBM Research unveils 3D avatar to help doctors visualize patient records and improve care

Mayo Clinic and IBM improve real-time medical imaging; produce results up to 50 times faster than typical processors

IBM contributes software that predicts spread of emerging infectious diseases; gives open source community access to processing engine for understanding and planning efficient responses to pandemics

2008
Mayo Clinic, IBM establish medical imaging research center; collaboration aims to find high-tech solutions for quicker diagnosis, better treatments

IBM and University of Ontario Institute of Technology collaborate with Canadian hospital to help improve care for premature babies

IBM and University of Edinburgh use world's most advanced supercomputer to tackle HIV

IBM integrates viral genomics with clinical data to predict responses to anti-HIV treatment

IBM data sharing technology speeds international collaboration to identify and respond to infectious diseases

IBM and ETH scientists advance supercomputing simulations to improve diagnosis of osteoporosis

Related resources

Site links

IBM Research Creates Microscope With 100 Million Times Finer Resolution Than Current MRI

Build your own feed

New to RSS?

• Contact a media relations representative
• Site feedback

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn

E-mail this page

Smarter Healthcare: An Era of Opportunity

Follow us on twitter