The research partners said the use of parallel architectures and exploits allowed highly technical image processing at fifty times faster than using a standard processor configuration.
The advance significantly improves image registration – the computer-enhanced process of aligning two medical images obtained on different days or by using different imaging devices – in three-dimensional space.
With the images properly aligned over one another, the process lets a radiologist more easily detect structural changes, such as the growth or shrinkage of tumours.
The results were presented in a joint presentation by the Mayo Clinic and IBM at the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging in Washington over the weekend.
“This alignment of images both improves the accuracy of interpretation and improves radiologist efficiency, particularly for diseases like cancer,” Mayo radiology researcher Dr Bradley Erickson said.
Through porting and optimisation of Mayo Clinic's Image Registration Application on the IBM BladeCenter QS20 'Cell Blade,' the application produced image results fifty times faster than the application running on a traditional processor configuration.
By running the application faster, physicians will be able to make quicker diagnoses and begin appropriate treatments for patients more promptly.
“This is all about taking technology innovation, collaborating with our customers, and applying it to help them directly benefit their patients,” said, IBM Next Generation Computing’s Shahrokh Daijavad.
“This improvement with the application running on Cell, will achieve two things – allow for Mayo's doctors and radiologists to achieve in seconds what used to take hours, which in turn will significantly decrease the wait time and anxiety for a patient waiting on news from the doctor,” Daijavad said.
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