An augmented reality microscope for cancer detection has been made by Google. The special AR microscopes (ARM) uses machine learning to detect the cancerous cells. The traditional method of doing the biopsy of a suspected cancerous mass is a very time taking process. Google also showed in the past that a neural network can speed up the diagnosis of cancer in the digital images. Using this system, Google’s AI can see an image in the microscope in the runtime. After analyzing, the results are shown on the top of the image.
Google also used neural networks to detect breast cancer and accuracy rates could be compared to a trained pathologist. Currently, the cancer diagnosis is primarily achieved with compound light microscopes. But the deep understanding of cancerous cells requires a digital representation of microscopic tissues. Jeff Dean, AI head, said, “Google’s augmented reality microscope (ARM) combines both methods, it blend[s] the expertise of automated machine learning systems with human expertise.”
Martin Stumpe and Craig Mermel of Google Brain Team gave their comments saying, “In principle, the ARM can provide a wide variety of visual feedback, including text, arrows, contours, heatmaps or animations, and is capable of running many types of machine learning algorithms aimed at solving different problems such as object detection, quantification or classification.” Google also said in a statement, “ARM has the potential for a large impact on global health, particularly for the diagnosis of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis and malaria, in developing countries.” This system can be used along with the current digital pathology workflows. There are also chances that the work scope can be expanded further to other industries like healthcare, life sciences research, and material science.