The software allows physicians to enter the patient’s diagnostic information into the IBM cognitive computing system. It assesses the medical conditions of the patient by referencing tens of millions of medical records in order to provide the best clinical protocol.

The technology assists oncologists in offering treatment options based on medical records. As a result, their diagnosis and treatment will be faster.

The World Health Organization has placed Vietnam at 78th among 172 countries with high cancer fatalities, with a cancer death rate of 110 for every 100,000 people. The number of cancer patients in the country has been on the rise with the figure forecast to reach 190,000 cases in 2020 compared to just 68,000 in 2000.

Five9 Vietnam, a local private telecoms and software company, has launched the technology on a trial basis at the Phu Tho General Hospital in the northern province of Phu Tho.

After the trial scheme, IBM and Five9 will introduce the software on a large scale. They intend to help doctors and patients across the country to have access to the technology.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, a cancer treatment and research institution founded in 1884 in New York City, is working with IBM to train Watson Oncology to interpret cancer patients’ clinical information and identify individualized, evidence-based treatment options that leverage their specialists’ decades of experience and research.

The software has been available at 80 hospitals and other healthcare facilities in 11 countries.

Nguyen Trong Huan, chairman of Five9 Vietnam, said IBM Watson for Oncology ensures consistency in treatment regimens for patients whether they go to either local or central hospitals. Besides, it helps doctors look for professional information regularly updated, enabling them to keep well informed of the latest treatment methods, and thus improving the quality of cancer treatment.

Tran Quy Tuong, director of the Information Technology Department under the Health Ministry, said the application of artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector has become an indispensable trend. IBM Watson for Oncology is expected to support doctors in coming up with treatment regimens for cancer patients in a more accurate and effective manner.

Ngo Huu Ha, deputy director of Phu Tho General Hospital, said the technology will help doctors save a great deal of time while looking up information so that they can spend more time improving patient care.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien said IBM Watson for Oncology is a new advance in the application of information technology in healthcare activities for cancer patients in Vietnam.