Grid computing fights breast cancer

IBM has teamed up with Oxford University and the UK government to launch a grid computing system which it hopes will improve the detection rates of breast cancer.

The grid, called eDiamond, works on the distributed computing model made famous by the SETI (search for extra-terrestrial intelligence) initiative. A grid consists of multiple computers and servers, all configured to share their combined processing power. Unlike other distributed computing models however, eDiamond will be a gated community of medical professionals.

Nicholas Donofrio, senior vice president, technology and manufacturing for IBM, told Reuters: "We're applying the vast computing power of a grid to create a massive digital 'photo album' of mammogram scans available to medical experts across the UK."

The mammograms will be stored in a standardised format and will be available to hospitals, radiologists and specialists across the UK. Initially the grid will incorporate two hospitals in London - St. George's and Guy's and St. Thomas - as well as the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and the Breast Screening Centres in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Eventually the grid may be widened to include all 92 screening centres in the UK.

IBM and the UK government jointly funded the £3.84m scheme which has been launched to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which runs for the duration of October.