Reason enough for Watson Health to partner with more than 15 hospitals and companies that are using imaging technology such as X-rays to capture information about body and health, to see how "cognitive imaging" works in the real world. The collaboration should help Watson Health figure out what works and what doesn’t before they launch their service, probably somewhere in 2017.

Watson is IBM’s supercomputer, one that can process huge amounts of data. IBM has put a lot of energy in health through partnerships and collaborations that help it pull together a lot of data and figure out the best ways to put it to use. Last February, the company acquired Truven Health Analytics, which collects data to find ways to treat patients more effectively while spending less (value-based care).

Developing cognitive imaging technology in hospitals across the country and through companies like Hologic (a diagnostics and imaging company) can help Watson Health to get a sense of how it works on different systems. This is needed because machines aren’t always calibrated the same, Watson Health Imaging Chief Strategy Officer Steve Tolle told Business Insider.