Developing pharmaceuticals through lengthy and costly clinical trials is definitely an approach which is here since long. Scientists and healthcare sector have started to experiment with alternative ways, such as by using artificial intelligence, human organs on chips or in silico trials, to speed up the process and make drug discovery and development more cost effective.
Quantum Computing has the ability to compute at scale which will allow clinicians to incorporate a vast number of cross functional data sets into their patient risk factor models. For instance, they will be able to analyse environmental databases to evaluate the effect of pollution on the health history of patient.
“India has a primary role to play in advancing the future of quantum computing with a strong scientific and engineering culture as well as the spirit of innovation”, said Arvind Krishna, Chairman & CEO, IBM. The Quantum Computing market size is expected to reach USD 1,765 million by 2026 from USD 472 million in 2021, at a CAGR of 30.2 per cent during the forecast period.
Helps in Precision Medication
Similarly, researchers will be able to accelerate precision medicine. It can allow clinicians to select clinical trial participants using more reference points, ensuring a better fit between protocol and patient.
It will become a lot easier to identify targeted chemotherapy protocols quicker and with more customization with quantum’s enhanced data processing abilities. Also, post treatment, being able to understand where and why a protocol succeeded or failed more accurately will give clinicians and researchers valuable insight.
More Faster and Efficient
Traditional computer use bits, a stream of pulses that exist as either zero or one, to store data and solve problems. Quantum computers, which are exponentially faster and more capable than traditional ones, hold promise to reshape the entire industry with proponents suggesting they could save the system hundreds of billions of dollars while improving patient care.
The ability to be in multiple states at the same time, called superposition, along with a phenomenon called ‘entanglement’, in which two paired qubits exist in a single quantum state. It allows quantum computers to perform numerous calculations at the same time and grants them tremendous computational processing power. Because of these features, quantum computers are adept at running simulations, especially those requiring large combinations of different variables. This ability makes them broadly applicable in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector.
Reduces Time of Clinical Trials
According to industry experts, clinical trials are still conducted in a manual way and there is not a lot of competition to make them more computationally savvy, despite the high price tag and slow timeline. That’s one key area where quantum could be leveraged earlier, as drug-makers have reams of data from trials that have already been completed.
A handful of companies are already using quantum technologies for drug discovery and development, many in partnership with quantum manufacturers like IBM and Google or pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline.
Helps in Optimizing Functions
Quantum Computing could optimize functions in healthcare administration for both players and providers, in areas like patient matching and scheduling, assigning patients to beds, cutting down on unnecessary diagnostic testing, optimizing tome on an MRI machine and imaging.
In fact, adding quantum computing to a type of deep learning called Generative Adversarial Networks also known as GANs can be used to fill out sparse data in imaging for rare diseases.
Helps in Processing Imagery
Quantum Computing has the power to process imagery which requires significantly more processing power than traditional datasets at scale. This ability could allow clinicians to more quickly analyse images such as CT scans and identify any anomalies resulting in faster diagnosis and improved patient care.
Challenges in the Way
Healthcare tends to lag behind other industries in technology adoption. The industry is only beginning to harness artificial intelligence, trailing advancements already made in this space by the private sector.
Thus, they may also be slow to embrace quantum computing, causing healthcare innovation to fall behind advancements in other industries. There are other concerns as well like privacy and ethics. Quantum Computing has the potential to give individuals much clearer insights into their future healthcare risks.
Patients tend to be receptive to this information when they understand those risks might migrate via preventative medicine. However, when the future prognosis indicates health conditions with grim outlooks, ethical situations arise.
And Finally
Quantum Computing may provide life-saving medical applications that are not witnessed by human race yet. Implementing these applications, however, will take a measured and mindful approach.
Thankfully, humans have a few years before this technology becomes mainstream, allowing the healthcare industry to fully grasp quantum’s true capabilities and challenges in the meantime. Quantum Computing will be the next great leap in healthcare sector, with the ability to solve problems beyond the reach of today’s computers.
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