Introduction
Google Health is hosting its fourth annual event, The Checkup 2024. It will be held on March 19, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. ET, and will be led by Google Health’s Chief Health Officer, Dr. Karen DeSalvo.
Teams under Google Health’s banner, like YouTube, Fitbit, Care Studio, and Search, will share updates about their latest research findings.
Google Health was founded in 2008 with the purpose of creating a directory of health records.
People could voluntarily upload their health records to Google Health’s database either manually or by logging into their accounts at partnered health service providers.
The information could be anything from lab results, allergies, and health conditions to medications.
In 2012, Google announced that it was retiring Google Health.
In November 2018, David Feinberg was appointed as Google Health’s lead.
After his appointment, Google Health started to focus more on artificial intelligence research focused on healthcare, clinical tools, and partnerships with other healthcare service providers.
Some of their current partners include Apollo Hospitals, Aravind Eye Hospitals, Mayo Clinic, Stanford Medicine, and Sankara Netralaya.
It was also announced that they wanted to improve search results for health-related queries on Google and YouTube.
As of 2020, Google Health has four main areas of focus:
- Improving search results for health-related queries on Google.
- Clinician tools for doctors and other healthcare professionals.
- Imaging and diagnostics
- Health-related research, particularly on artificial intelligence
What is The Checkup?
Google Health’s Checkup is an ongoing initiative that aims to transform healthcare outcomes with technology.
It was launched in 2021 in response to the global Covid-19 pandemic.
In the words of Dr. Karen DeSalvo, Chief Health Officer at Google Health, ‘teams under Google Health apply their expertise and technological strengths and harness the power of partnerships to support the 3Cs – consumers, caregivers, and communities around the world.’
This year’s theme at the Checkup is the transformative power of artificial intelligence in healthcare.
There’s no doubt that artificial intelligence can absolutely transform healthcare.
AI can help achieve early detection and better health outcomes for patients and assist doctors in making better diagnoses.
Here are some topics addressed in the previous editions of the Checkup:
- Smartphone cameras to help protect heart health and preserve eyesight: One of Google’s earliest health AI projects was the Automated Retinal Disease Assessment (ARDA). It helps detect diabetic retinopathy, a disease if left undiagnosed, can lead to blindness. In addition to this, Google’s team of researchers found that photos of the interior of the eye could reveal heart disease risks such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol with AI. Partnering with EyePACS and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Google is now exploring if cameras in smartphones could help detect diabetic and non-diabetic diseases from eye photos. Early results are promising, and it could lead to people making more informed decisions about their health from their homes.
- Providing access to ultrasound for healthier pregnancies: Ultrasound is a non-invasive way of photographing the tissues, organs, and fetuses inside the body. However, many expecting mothers from low-income countries don’t have access to ultrasound. Thus, many maternal and fetal health problems go undetected. Google has partnered with Northwestern Medicine to integrate AI in ultrasounds for more accurate results that are accessible to everyone. This will help lower maternal and fetal health risks and pave the way for healthier pregnancies.
- AI to detect breast cancer: Google is working with doctors to integrate AI systems in mammography, a test done to detect breast cancer. More than 2 million are diagnosed with breast cancer globally each year. However, clinicians are overburdened, which means it takes too long for patients to get an accurate diagnosis. Google’s research shows that AI can help detect breast cancer more accurately and quickly, leading to early diagnosis and better health outcomes.
What to expect at The Checkup 2024
So, what should you expect from Google Health’s Checkup 2024?
Here’s what we are looking forward to:
- Better (and more accurate) health information for consumers: Access to correct information can prove to be critical for your health. Google Health will work on improving search results for queries related to health.
- More insights regarding your health: AI systems integrated into health devices like Fitbit and Nest will help users analyze their sleep patterns, blood oxygen levels, temperature, and daily steps to provide more insights into their overall well-being.
- Expanding the power of AI in medicine: At the Checkup 2024, Google Health team’s ongoing effort to make health care accessible to all will continue. Google Health is testing AI models to incorporate them in diagnostic tools to counter the global shortage of physicians and help make accurate and timely disease diagnoses.
