IBM's Watson Goes From Jeopardy To Medicine

IBM's "Watson" supercomputer is on a roll. After beating a pair of previous Jeopardy champions handily this week, Watson is taking on the world of medicine, IBM announced Thursday.

Big Blue officials said that the company will work with voice recognition firm Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN) to integrate the smaller company's voice technologies into Linux-based Watson in order to help adapt it for use in the healthcare industry.

Columbia University Medical Center and the University of Maryland School of Medicine are also contributing to the project, according to IBM.

Physicians at Columbia University are helping to identify critical issues in the practice of medicine where the Watson technology may be able to contribute, IBM said. At the University of Maryland, physicians are working to identify the best way that a technology like Watson could interact with medical practitioners to provide what the company termed "maximum assistance."

IBM and Nuance said that they expect the first products based on their collaboration to hit the market in 18 to 24 months.