by STEVEN SANDOR / photos LAUGHING DOG PHOTOGRAPHY

Quantum computing. Put those two words together and immediately it’s the stuff of science fiction, right?

But, in the coming years, as the nascent technology develops, quantum machines could rival or even top the “classical” computing machines we use today. And, while we don’t yet have a target date on when quantum computing will become mainstream, the University of Alberta and other partner institutions are betting big on the technology.

In 2023, the $25-million Quantum Horizons Research Network was born, and includes the Universities of Alberta, Calgary and Lethbridge. It promises to “bring together world-class scientists to deepen our understanding and unlock the mysteries of quantum mechanics, where the rules of classical physics do not apply.”

The federal government has spent close to $1 billion over the last decade, seeding research in quantum technologies.

The potential for quantum computing is great — and it could, down the road, have major implications for our day-to-day health care.

“It’s new knowledge. It’s new technologies,” says John P. Davis, a physics professor at the University of Alberta, and founder of Zero Point Cryogenics. “Just think about how 50 years ago we didn’t really have computers. And they weren’t in health care. Consider the revolution that that’s caused. If we can build new types of computers, new types of technologies based on new laws of physics, what’s the potential?”

Look at imaging, for example. “It was a physicist who won the Nobel Prize for discovering x-rays, right?” says Davis. “MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) was not invented for health care. It was distinctly for condensed matter physics applications. And then it got translated into use for health care. So that’s the kind of thing that one might like to see in the future.”

Dr. Jodi Abbott, President and CEO of the University Hospital Foundation, sees that exchange of knowledge and discovery from one field to another as the foundation of progress and, ultimately, to better health care.

“When you think about transforming and redefining health, you’re talking about pursuing ideas that are truly transformational, and that may mean being open to what is going on around you, even if it is outside your area.”

Christoph Simon has dedicated his life to studying quantum machines and processes. He’s a professor at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Physics and Astronomy.

“It’s quite believable that they will be useful to study the behaviour of molecules, and that could presumably be used for designing new drugs,” says Simon. “We’ll have to see when the quantum techniques are actually more powerful than the classical ones.”

Just think about how 50 years ago we didn’t really have computers. And they weren’t in health care. Consider the revolution that that’s caused. If we can build new types of computers, new types of technologies based on new laws of physics, what’s the potential?

John P. Davis, physics professor, University of Alberta, and founder, Zero Point Cryogenics.  

Both Davis and Simon say that health-care advances being made with the aid of classical computers are pretty incredible. And, while the potential for quantum computing is great, it will be years before they ever become mainstream — if they become mainstream, that is.

Simon has been to conferences where start-ups and scientists meet, and there are predictions that quantum computers will break through in five to 25 years. Simon believes that 25 is more realistic than five.

“It is a bit of an arms race, as the quantum computer side improves, the classic technique also improves,” says Simon. “But it’s very believable that if you have a controlled quantum system, you can simulate other quantum systems — and gain important insights.

“What really needs to happen is we have to prove a clear advantage. Then, the question is: How far is that away?”

“When you have new technologies,” adds Davis, “somebody’s going to have that aha moment of, ‘This is what I’ve been waiting for. I can apply that to health care.’

“I mean, I think the way to think about it is there’s not only somebody looking at your disease right now, there’s people who are building the tools that are going to be needed for your disease in the future.

“There’s a whole train of people working on phenomenon that may not be useful now, but in the future could be. You can imagine the hope there.”