IBM begins quantum computer installation at Cleveland Clinic

IBM has begun installing its first on-premise private-sector quantum computer at Cleveland Clinic, a healthcare organization in Ohio.

Delivery of the computer known as IBM Quantum System One is the first key accomplishment in the Cleveland Clinic – IBM Discovery Accelerator, a ten-year partnership aimed at increasing the pace of medical research.

“The current pace of scientific discovery is unacceptably slow, while our research needs are growing exponentially,” said Lara Jehi, M.D., Cleveland Clinic’s Chief Research Information Officer.

The IBM quantum computer will operate from the Cleveland Clinic’s main campus, providing the technological foundation for the Clinic’s Global Center for Pathogen Research and Human Health.

“We cannot afford to continue to spend a decade or more going from a research idea in a lab to therapies on the market. Quantum offers a future to transform this pace, particularly in drug discovery and machine learning,” Jehi added.

Discovery Accelerator projects include generative modeling, robotic labs for synthesizing chemical compounds, an AI-based data assimilation tool that combines structured and unstructured literature, and high-performance computing technologies.

“A step change in the way we solve scientific problems is on the horizon,” said Ruoyi Zhou PhD, the Director for IBM Research – Cleveland Clinic Partnership.

In North America, IBM offers quantum services to enterprises through a portal, but this is the company’s first on-premise Quantum System installation in the private sector. There are installation agreements for on-premise quantum computers at other locations in the United States, however, as well as in Europe and APAC countries.

“At IBM, we’re more motivated than ever to create with Cleveland Clinic and others lasting communities of discovery and harness the power of quantum computing, AI and hybrid cloud to usher in a new era of accelerated discovery in healthcare and life sciences,” added Zhou.

In a recent study from IBM, researchers noted that “for quantum computing to succeed in changing what it means to compute, we need to change the architecture of computing. Quantum computing is not going to replace classical computing but rather become an essential part of it. We see the future of computing being a quantum-centric supercomputer where QPUs, CPUs, and GPUs all work together to accelerate computations.”

The IBM Quantum System One is expected to be completed in early 2023.

Image Source: Cleveland Clinic/IBM