The cure for cancer is something of a holy grail for scientists and doctors, but coming up with a definitive and effective treatment that vanquishes such a varied and changeable disease is simply a step too far. Or at least, it has been so far. There’s hope that the compute power that quantum computing can deliver could change all that.
Calculating all the genome types for various forms of cancer and simulating the outcomes of different treatments and combinations of treatments to find the one that works for each cancer type requires immense compute power that conventional computing can’t quite deliver.
But quantum can, or at least it has the potential to do so. Here are some of the ways that quantum computing is revolutionizing treatment not just for cancer, but for a whole swathe of diseases and conditions.
Quantum-enhanced cancer treatments could become more effective
It might surprise you to hear that computers already play an important role in cancer treatment. Radiotherapy is, currently, one of the best way to treat cancer, but it’s potentially harmful. The process works by destroying cancer cells, but it can kill healthy cells as well as cancerous ones if it isn’t calibrated correctly.
Medical centers use computers to calculate the likely outcome of different permutations in order, but classical computers can take days to crunch all the data points and come up with the most effective and least harmful treatment plan, and when it comes to cancer treatment, a delay of a few days can be the difference between success and failure. Quantum computing, though, is powerful enough that it can run the same calculations in just a few hours.
Once quantum computing is on the menu, scientists could produce better optimized treatment plans configured according to each individual’s health data. Cancer patients produce masses of data, from MRI scans, biopsies, regular checkups, and more. Quantum computers have the power to compare every individual data point against the likely impact of every potential treatment, and consider how different treatments would interact with each other. On top of that, they can even run full genomic sequencing and include that data in their calculations.
With a more detailed personalized health profile and the ability to simulate huge numbers of complex scenarios in a short space of time, scientists hope that quantum computing will produce more targeted options for cases where classical immunotherapies aren’t producing results.
Serious health issues are detected earlier
The sooner that treatment begins for any health condition, the better the results, so using quantum computing to improve diagnostics and medical imaging to enable early detection can be transformative. MRIs, for example, are notoriously difficult to interpret correctly, but quantum computers can assess the images they show and produce a more accurate diagnosis in a shorter period of time.
There are also newer quantum-based imaging and scanning devices under development which could deliver more precise scans that allow for a more detailed level of representation. Quantum MRIs could scan the body on a molecular level, looking at molecules individually or in small groups, rather than on a whole-body level. This might make it possible for scientists to spot tumors while they are still made up of just a few cells, rather than needing to wait until they have grown big enough to be visible to the human eye.
Other ongoing projects include combining quantum computing and nanoparticles into quantum sensors, which could power more brain scans and cardiac imaging that are safer, more reliable, and less expensive. With quantum sensors, cancer and even dementia could be detected more accurately and at an earlier stage.
Rare diseases receive more accurate treatment
It’s frequently difficult for people with rare diseases to access effective and timely treatment for their conditions, thanks to the double whammy of delays in accurate diagnostics and a lack of proven clinical interventions.
Doctors don’t usually have much experience in spotting rare diseases, so it’s common for patients to have several misdiagnoses before reaching an expert who can recognize their condition. But quantum-powered machine learning (ML) tools can learn the distinguishing features of even highly unusual diseases, and can compare almost unlimited sets of symptoms and conditions against each other to swiftly arrive at the right diagnosis.
Quantum also makes it possible to run full genomic sequencing on people with rare diseases, or with a family history of them. This helps improve diagnosis, but it also gives scientists a better understanding of the condition so they can find better treatments.
For some rare cancers there isn’t enough data to train a diagnostic algorithm, but quantum computers can build “fake” datasets that complete the model and support more accurate diagnostics.
Healthcare can move off the back foot
A combination of the versatility of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, the speed of 5G networks, and a pandemic-enforced adoption of wearable and embedded medical devices have combined to bring remote health monitoring to a new level. As a result, today’s medical professionals have an immense mountain of individual health data at their fingertips, with updates arriving constantly in real time.
Classical computing can’t do much with such a tsunami of data, but quantum computing can, and it could make predictive healthcare a reality. We’re seeing accurate, advanced warnings about health incidents like heart attacks and strokes, and real-time tracking of the onset of conditions like Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s. Doctors can tailor lifestyle recommendations and refine medication choices and dosing accordingly, to help individuals live as healthy as possible for as long as possible.
Better healthcare could mean better quantum computing stock prices
Not surprisingly, the actual and potential impact of quantum computing on healthcare outcomes is having an impact on quantum computing stocks. People are increasingly deciding to invest in quantum computing, both because of the possible financial returns from a quantum computing stock that is the beneficiary of healthcare breakthroughs, and the altruistic desire to be part of improving public health.
Pureplay quantum stocks, machine learning companies, cloud computing stocks, and quantum ETFs are all under consideration as investors search for the best quantum computing stocks to buy.
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The possible applications of quantum computing are only in the exploration stages, and the possibility of returns is uncertain and may not be realized in the near future.
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