The end of autumn for Google in the media space was marked by medicine. First appeared (and confirmed
gg has collected what is known about Google's healthcare projects.
Smart Spoons, Lenses, and Robot Surgeons: What Google's Biology Research Department Does
Biological Research Department at Alphabet– Verily Life Sciences – grew out of the Google Life Sciences research project, which in turn came out from under the wing of Google X in 2015. The project's website says that it creates tools for collecting and organizing medical data, and on their basis – solutions and platforms that can work with this data. Within the walls of Verily, gadgets are developed for people suffering from various diseases, and research is also conducted.
The most famous project is Verily – This,perhaps contact lenses for diabetics. They were announced at the beginning of 2014, by which time the project was already a year and a half old. According to Google's idea, the lenses were supposed to determine the composition of sugar in tears once a second and replace other methods of control for diabetics. But in 2018 the project was closed. Despite the fact that the startup was not the only one of its kind, Verily reported that the results of the analysis of tears are very different from blood. Therefore, in the near future the team will focus on other “smart” solutions for people with vision problems and people with diabetes.
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However, even at the development stage there werequestions. According to WHO, every 11th person on earth suffers from diabetes. But this is a disease of the poor – people who don't have access to normal healthy food. And it is unlikely that the poor will be able to afford such an expensive toy as smart lenses.
Unlike lenses, the Liftware smart spoon fromVerily finally went public. With the help of an accelerometer and a compensation device, the spoon can neutralize hand tremors (target audience - people with Parkinson's disease, etc.). It was developed by the startup Lift Labs, which was later acquired by Google. The basic Liftware set is still available on the project website for $195, although a higher price was originally announced.
Verily also worked on smart lenses,designed for people with age-related farsightedness and those who have undergone cataract surgery, sensors for detecting atrial fibrillation, their own smart watches, “connected” diapers, blood glucose meters, etc.
Also, within the framework of the unit, projects ondeveloping a medical platform for the early detection of cancer and fragile atherosclerotic plaques using nanotechnology. In 2015, it was possible to create a prototype of artificial skin, as well as a drug consisting of nanoparticles, which responds to the presence of cancer cells or plaques. The technology allows using special wearable devices to determine whether these markers are in the human body.
Recently, Google's own divisionHealth presented an algorithm that can detect 26 types of skin diseases using a camera. It is designed for highly accurate diagnosis of melanoma and other types of cancer. Gives three possible diagnoses, accuracy of determination for the first is 71%, for three – 93%.
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In 2015, together with Johnson &Johnson (which includes a division that deals with surgical equipment), Verily launched the Verb Surgical project to create an automated surgical platform. With Johnson & Johnson– experience in surgical equipment, with Verily – in robotics, which is at Alphabet. However, today robotic surgery – It’s no longer news that robots perform operations under the control of people. The most famous case – the da Vinci robot, with the help of which operations were carried out even in Ukraine.
Finally, in 2016 it became known about a jointproject between Verily and British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline – Galvani Bioelectronic enterprise. The project should receive $715 million in investment from Alphabet and Coldrex over seven years to develop bioelectronic implants that will help fight chronic diseases. These will be tiny devices that, using electrical impulses, will change nerve impulses and thereby affect human health. The first samples should appear in 2023.
State Health Survey of Americans
In 2017, Verily together with the universityStanford has launched a 4-year wearable electronics health research program. It is attended by 10,000 people. With the help of the study, the company plans to study how the data of genetic tests, wearable electronics and other sources can be combined to improve human health.
The Verily project overlaps with a number of others inin particular, with the study of the health status of millions of Americans, which is conducted by the US National Institute of Health (NIH). The company collects data from wearable devices of NIH program participants.
At the first stages the company worked ona platform that would combine records from the tracker, genetic information and medical history of project participants. The start of the project was widely covered in the American media. Constantly tracking people's lifestyles and body conditions, according to Verily's idea, will make it possible to understand how people get diseases and what can be done about it. What is especially important – The project involves people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, different ages and races.
Fighting with Death: Calico Project
In 2013, technical director in the fieldRay Kurzweil's Google Learning and Natural Language Processing Machine spoke at the Global Future 2045 World Congress in the United States. In his speech, he suggested that over the next 15 years, humanity will be able to increase life by a longer period than it was possible to do over the past century. This will help us reprogramming cells and 3D printing. And he did not stop at mere words.
In the same year, Google became one of the foundersCalico project, which deals with life extension issues. “Calico – is a research and development company whose mission – use advanced technology to improve our understanding of the biology that controls lifespan. We will use this knowledge to develop interventions that will enable people to live longer, healthier lives.” – says on the project website.
Calico website has links to scientistscompanies in the field of genetic studies of longevity, preventing the effects of chronic stress on the body, combating various types of cancer, searching for a “toggle switch” that disables cell death, etc. Calico is open to partnerships, especially in research.
All medical data in one place: Deepmind Health
Deepmind company appeared in 2010, in 2014it was acquired by Google, but left independent. Deepmind was actively discussed in 2016, when the Alpha Go algorithm created within its walls was able to defeat a person in the game of the same name. But this is not the only project of the company where the best AI specialists from Oxford work.
In 2016, she launched a medicalHealth division. The tasks of the unit included creating tools that were safe from the point of view of data protection for working with patients – platform, cloud storage, mobile application for clinics, where they could monitor how patients comply with prescriptions. It was clear even then that medical data would sooner or later be digitized and move to the cloud. Therefore, it is logical that one of the “hands” of Google – one of the leaders in the field of working with data and clouds – reached out to a promising niche.
Deepmind also engaged inresearch projects in the field of cancer therapy, image analysis, prediction of complications, etc. The partner in the implementation of the projects was the British National Health System, as well as the UK clinics and British data.
Autumn 2019 Medical UnitDeepmind's AI companies went under the wing of Alphabet. The purchase cost $ 500 million, integration took 10 months. Under the terms of the deal, collaboration with British doctors will continue under the wing of Google Health. Now you can read about all these projects on the Google Health website.
Personal data in exchange for free medicine
In November of this year it became known that Googlesecretly obtains Americans' personal health information from health care nonprofit Ascension – one of the largest in the world. It includes about 150 hospitals and medical organizations in the United States.
According to Forbes, the project calledNightingale didn't launch until February of this year. We are talking about testing a service for analyzing patient medical data. It also allows doctors to learn more about the health of their patients, previous medical interventions, medications taken, etc. Experts believe that cloud services for storing medical data – a tasty piece of the market for companies like Google, Microsoft, etc. Therefore, one way or another they will develop in this direction.
Fitbit: cherry on the cake
Fitbit in the portfolio of Google, at a glance,It looks the same suitcase without a handle, as previously became Motorola or HTC. Companies are stubbornly unlucky with the gadget line. Yes, and Fitbit is not a first-tier player, the company is not doing well with iron sales; competitors are eating it up from above and below the market. Does this mean that Google decided to try their luck and (at the same time drown) one of the world's largest manufacturers of smart watches? Most likely no.
In 2017, Fitbit's business went downhill. Samsung and Apple improved their already sensible smart watches, Xiaomi eats away the market with budget smart bracelets. Fitbit stagnated, as the technological capabilities of the new models did not grow much, but they cost a lot. But one small pivot changed the fate of the company. Fitbit switched to collaboration with insurance, medical and other organizations, and also focused on the development of services for zohozhniki, available by subscription. The new software strategy, together with successful models in terms of price and performance ratio, helped the company even out revenues.
Fitbit revenue dynamics
Fitbit Sales Dynamics
Google is probably not interested in this storyas much iron business to fight Apple in the smart watch market as the platform and data of millions of users who have been accumulating for over 10 years. This is far more than the 10,000 users that participated in the four-year study.
In the dry residue
Special project
Artificial Intelligence on TVs: How It Works
While the FDAFood and Drug Administration of the United States, whose actions generally affect the rest of the world) is in no hurry to allow artificial intelligence to make diagnoses, and wearable electronics – act as a medical consultant. But this does not mean that this time will never come. When it comes, Google will be among the first to know as much as possible about the structure of the human body, thoroughly understand the influence of various aspects of lifestyle on health and lifespan, distinguish between diseases, be able to work with databases, store huge amounts of data in their clouds and connect doctors with patients, and besides – develop all kinds of “smart” medical equipment. With small steps, the company is already methodically moving towards its goal.