Tech giant Google is on a roll as it continues to introduce cutting-edge technologies to improve life. Based on the latest reports, Google has expanded the capabilities of its computer vision-powered app – Google Lens. A convenient app for running quick image searches or translations, Google Lens provides information about objects clicked using your smartphone's camera.
Now, the app has leaped ahead and lets users utilise it to search and identify skin conditions. Google Lens can detect conditions like moles and rashes simply by uploading images. The functionality is hailed as a breakthrough as it can help millions of people to identify a wide range of skin conditions that may be difficult to describe such as hair loss, lip bumps, etc. It is to be noted that this feature is no substitute for professional medical diagnostics.
Google launched an AI-powered skin and hair condition diagnostic app in 2021. The latest feature is no match to the former app, however, it offers valuable assistance to users, especially those who are in a dilemma if they need medical attention or should resort to over-the-counter treatments.
The latest development seems to have posed questions if AI-backed medical diagnostics can impact medical science. Since billions of people have access to smartphones and internet connectivity, features like Google Lens will be able to help them assess their skin conditions with ease. This has the potential to radically change the medical diagnosis landscape and treatments.
Moreover, now users will also be able to include images in their conversations with the Bard chatbot. Google Lens will be assisting the chatbot in assessing these images.
At Google I/O in 2021, the company announced DermAssist, a guided skin search app from Google Health that lets users find information about their skin concerns. Users needed to upload three pictures from their phones or computers and answer a few questions. From what it has learned from millions of skin-related images, the app would then look for signs of various skin conditions in the photos.
"DermAssist, trained using millions of skin images, can identify more than 90 percent of commonly searched skin conditions, and research demonstrates that the underlying technology can help clinicians better identify skin conditions in all populations," the company wrote in its blog.
