Quantum Computing in the Biomedical Sciences; A Brief Introduction into Concepts and Applications

Abstract

Quantum computing is a field that aims to exploit the principles of superposition and entanglement to perform computations. By using quantum bits (qubits) a quantum computer is able to perform certain tasks more efficiently when compared to classical computers. While applied quantum computing is still in its early stages, quantum algorithms on simulated quantum computers have already been applied to certain problems in epidemics modeling and image processing. Furthermore, companies like Google and IBM continue to develop new quantum computers with an increasing number of qubits. While much progress has been made in the recent years, the so called ”quantum supremacy”has not yet been achieved, and quantum computing appears to be still unsuitable for most applications in biomedical sciences.