IBM (NYSE:IBM) plans to develop and apply machine learning techniques to years of research data in the hopes of identifying factors that trigger the onset of Type I diabetes in children, with the support of JDRF.

Scientists at IBM are slated to assess three different data sets using machine learning algorithms to find patterns and factors that could one day help delay or prevent Type I diabetes.

“At JDRF, we are absolutely committed to seeing a world without Type I diabetes, and with this partnership, we’re adding some of the most advanced computing power in the world to our mission,” JDRF president & CEO Derek Rapp said in prepared remarks. “JDRF supports researchers all over the world, but never before have we been able to analyze their data comprehensively, in a way that can tell us why some children who are at risk get T1D and others do not. IBM’s analysis of the existing data could open the door to understanding the risk factors of T1D in a whole new way, and to one day finding a way to prevent T1D altogether.”

The group may eventually incorporate more complex data sets, they said, including microbiome and genomics data.

“Nearly 40,000 new cases of Type I diabetes will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year. And each new patient creates new records and new data points that, if leveraged, could provide additional understanding of the disease,” Jianying Hu, senior manager and program director at the Center for Computational Health, added. “The deep expertise our team has in artificial intelligence applied to healthcare data makes us uniquely positioned to help JDRF unlock the insights hidden in this massive data set and advance the field of precision medicine towards the prevention and management of diabetes.”

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