Google has won a contract with the US Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). It will use recent technological advancements to create an AI and AR-equipped Google microscope that will improve accuracy in detecting cancer.
About 5% of cancer diagnoses are made incorrectly, and in half of these cases, failing to detect cancer causes later problems.
Google plans to train artificial intelligence using the open source platform TensorFlow to detect cancer cells in photos taken by a microscope. The Mountain View company has already started developing neural networks using the Google Cloud Healthcare API to anonymize and segment existing datasets. When AI is fully trained, Google will design its AI microscope by equipping it with a built-in AR (augmented reality) overlay to show doctors information about the likelihood that cells are cancerous.
A magic eye for cancer detection
"To detect cancer and treat it effectively, speed and accuracy are key." He states it Mike Daniels, vice president of Google Cloud for the global public sector.
We partner with DIU to deliver our machine learning and artificial intelligence technology. We will help frontline health workers improve the lives of our military men and women and their families.
Mike Daniels, vice president of Google Cloud for the global public sector.
Google's AI and AR microscope: the roadmap
Google hopes its method will reduce the sheer volume of data doctors face and make diagnoses faster and cheaper, as well as being more accurate.
The first phase will see the selection of Defense Health Agency treatment facilities for research purposes only. In second stage, the technology will be rolled out to U.S. military health system hospitals for actual real-world testing.
