I’ll admit that I get pretty uneasy about the capabilities of artificial intelligence sometimes, but in the area of healthcare, I’m all in. Researchers are using artificial intelligence to help diagnose and treat some of our society’s most dangerous and debilitating diseases, and the technology might just save someone you love.
Here are a few recent highlights:
Diagnosing the Spread of Breast Cancer
When breast cancer cells metastasize, the disease can become deadly. The search for cancer cells around the body is time consuming and difficult for humans, so Google AI built technology that helps doctors search for tiny, tiny abnormalities in lymph nodes.
Predicting Alzheimer’s Years Before Symptoms
Alzheimer’s Disease starts affecting the brain years before a patient shows symptoms. Researchers from California universities used scans of 1000 Alzheimer’s patients to train artificial intelligence to pick up on the changes in the brain that happen up to 6 years before a formal diagnosis.
Assessing Cardiovascular Issues with Eye Scans
Two years ago (which is a lifetime in AI), Google found that they could assess diabetic health by using artificial intelligence to scan eyes. This year in another study, they found they could scan eyes to assess cardiovascular health.
