A project conducted by medical information aggregator PearlDiver Technologies, Inc., and Indiana University is anticipated to boost the state’s economy.
Big Red, IU’s supercomputer system, will be used by PearlDiver to advance the company’s data analysis of millions of patients and condense findings into information readily available to medical providers and policy makers.
According to PearlDiver officials, the company is the creator of what is believed to be the largest fully HIPAA-compliant, publicly available and searchable database of patient records in the nation.
"As the datasets we use grow exponentially larger, we need to focus more and more computer power on these complicated questions," said Benjamin Young, president and co-founder of PearlDiver. "Access to the Big Red supercomputer will allow us to expand our analysis in ways we couldn't have imagined just a few months ago and will allow us to provide more accurate and timely answers."
PearlDiver's use of Big Red is enabled by the Indiana Initiative for Economic Development (IIED), a program that fosters technology development and job growth in the state. The partnership involves the Indiana Economic Development Corp., Indiana University, Purdue University and IBM.
IU's activities as part of the IIED are coordinated through the university's newly formed Pervasive Technology Institute, an organization dedicated to the development and delivery of innovative information technology to advance research, education, industry and society.
"This project demonstrates the value that the IEDC, IU and Purdue are adding to our state's economy," said Craig Stewart, executive director of the Pervasive Technology Institute and IU associate dean for research technologies. "IU is one of just two supercomputer centers in the U.S. that are able to handle patient data in a HIPAA-compliant manner. Thanks to state support we are able to aid an up-and-coming business in Indiana with this very unusual combination of supercomputers and HIPAA compliance. Aiding the Indiana economy is a key goal for the Pervasive Technology Institute."
Sean Ryan, director of engagement at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), who helped connect PearlDiver with the IIED, said programs like the IIED can bring competitive advantage to regional businesses.
"PearlDiver is the first northeast Indiana small business to partner with IU in the IIED and is a success story for Indiana," Ryan said.
Photo courtesy of Indiana University
