(IBM: Armonk, NY) -- WellPoint Inc. and IBM announced an agreement to create the first commercial applications of the IBM Watson technology. Under the agreement, WellPoint will develop and launch Watson-based solutions to help improve patient care through the delivery of up-to-date, evidence-based health care for millions of Americans. IBM will develop the base Watson health care technology on which WellPoint’s solution will run.

Watson, named after IBM founder Thomas J. Watson, is a computing system built by a team of IBM scientists that set out to accomplish a grand challenge: build a computing system that rivals a human’s ability to answer questions posed in natural language with speed, accuracy, and confidence. Earlier this year, Watson competed and won against two of the most celebrated players ever to appear on the quiz show Jeopardy.

Watson’s ability to analyze the meaning and context of human language, and quickly process vast amounts of information to suggest options targeted to a patient’s circumstances, can assist decision makers, such as physicians and nurses, in identifying the most likely diagnosis and treatment options for their patients.

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