New Google health tool to help you identify skin conditions using your phone – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Tech giant Google wants AI to help you identify skin conditions using your smartphone. At I/O 2021, the company confirmed that it is working on a new feature for Google Search which will enable users to identify some skin conditions.
The company also said that the tool will help in identifying various dermatological issues at home. In order to use the tool, you will just have to point the smartphone camera towards your concerned skin and capture images from three different angles. You’ll then be asked questions about your skin type, how long you’ve had the issue and other symptoms that help the tool narrow down the possibilities.
The AI tool will then analyse the images to tell you the skin condition you are suffering from. Google also mentioned that the tool is designed to recognise 288 different skin conditions.
Once the tool processes the images, the user is then presented with a list of conditions which might apply.
In an official blog post Google said, “The tool is not intended to provide a diagnosis nor be a substitute for medical advice as many conditions require clinician review, in-person examination, or additional testing like a biopsy. Rather we hope it gives you access to authoritative information so you can make a more informed decision about your next step.”
During the keynote, the company also mentioned that it aims to launch the tool by the end of this year. This upcoming tool has already been marked as Class I medical service in the EU.
Meanwhile, Google also announced that it is using AI to create tools for screening tuberculosis patients.
“Cost-effective screening, specifically chest X-rays, has been identified as one way to improve the screening process. However, experts aren’t always available to interpret results. That’s why the World Health Organization (WHO) recently recommended the use of computer-aided detection (CAD) for screening and triaging. To help catch the disease early and work toward eventually eradicating it, Google researchers developed an AI-based tool that builds on our existing work in medical imaging to identify potential TB patients for follow-up testing”, the company said in a blog post.