Google & US-Govt. Are Building An AI Microscope That Detects Cancer

Date: September 21, 2023

Google has collaborated with the US Defense Department to build an AI-powered Augmented Reality microscope to detect and identify cancer cells.

Google has been actively integrating Artificial Intelligence in its end-user products like Gmail, Assistant, Docs, and YouTube, which all other tech giants are also doing. Similarly, all the key tech players like Elon Musk are investing heavily in AI-powered technology that empowers healthcare. Google has recently collaborated with the United States Defense Department to incorporate Artificial Intelligence in healthcare. It is building an ARM (Augmented Reality Microscope) that AI will power to provide visual indicators of cancer in real time. 

The prototype of the ARM is currently in its initial seed phase of development. The ARM was first tested publicly in 2018, after which nearly 13 new prototypes have been released. These prototypes have not been put to public use yet. All the devices are functional and can assist doctors in everyday clinical pathology work. 

A Complete Patent

Google has registered a patent on this technology. “A microscope of the type used by a pathologist to view slides containing biological samples such as tissue or blood is provided with the projection of enhancements to the field of view, such as a heatmap, border, or annotations, substantially in real-time as the slide is moved to new locations or changes in magnification or focus occur,” the patent reads.

The enhancements assist the pathologist in characterizing or classifying the sample, such as being positive for the presence of cancer cells or pathogens,” it added

Google’s AI In Healthcare

The R&D department of Google is working in tandem with the latest regulations to ensure that the AI meets all compliance requirements. Also, the new tech they are building will not replace the existing medical innovations but will be designed to enhance their accuracy, speed up the process, and improve real-time visualization. 

These visual feedbacks will include texts, arrows, contours, heat maps, and animations, each tailored to the unique assessment objectives of patients. With the advancement in this field, AI can prove to be a revolutionary element in improving pathogen detection, of which the most critical is cancer