As early as toddlers, humans learn the word “big.” Small and little are used of child-size items, while adult-sized clothing, dishes, and furniture is said to be big. But just how big can we get? Physical items can only grow so large, but when “big” refers to something we can’t grasp or see, such as data collection, the size becomes seemingly infinite. It’s hard to track, impossible to stop, and requires non-stop efforts to sort out its millions of sections. Now that’s big.
This data can come from all corners of the world – the Internet, school classrooms, store statistics – the holders are almost as ongoing as the data themselves. But if this data is so absolutely huge, how do we track it?
Within the medical field, big data comes in two forms – structured and unstructured. Structured data is that which can be found on a computer or database where it can be used in deciphering analytics. Unstructured data refers to doctor notes or patient charts that are handwritten/typed, but not yet entered into a system. There is some lag time with inputting this data – and combined with a growing number of patients and treatment options, the flow never stops.
Just how big is the data? Every year the amount of information in existence doubles, much of which is big data. As of last year, each day 2.5 quintillion (2.5X1018 ) bytes of data were created, bringing the grand total to well over 2 zettabytes (that’s over 2 billion terrabytes). Analyzing this info, however, can also provide a great deal of answers, especially in health care. Big data can help predict epidemics, allow doctors to compare symptoms with similar cases, provide more efficient patient care, and more. The benefits are almost as endless as the data themselves.
But without analyzing, it’s just data without a purpose.
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