Google unveils an AI tool that identifies skin condition

Gone are the days when you had to approach a dermatologist to consult about a rash or spots on your skin. Search engine giant Google might want to make efforts to help you understand such issues with the help of Artificial Intelligence. Google showed off its new dermatology feature this week and it makes use of a machine that can identify 288 different skin problems that include acne and melanoma and they will be done with the help of a few pictures of the patient.

Dr. Karen DeSalvo, the chief health officer at the company said that it will just a few seconds to bring up a list of the possible conditions that match with the dermatological conditions. DeSalvo added that the machine will also be able to identify on a range of skin types and tones. The idea was derived after the company received about 10 billion searches that are related to the skin, hair and nails every year. But here the users might not be able to rule out the actual skin condition with the help of the search items only.

The latest tech is a photo-based tool that has the ability to identify nearly 90 percent of the most frequently searched questions which are related to dermatology. Google has also revealed that people I Europe will soon be able to have the feature as the EU has given a green signal by clearing the tech as low-risk medical advice. The feature should be available for the Europeans in a matter of months. The tech is yet to be approved for usage in the United States.

Nature Medicine, a medical journal had published a study in 2020 that had mentioned that the tool by Google was accurate in identifying the skin conditions as it could have been done by a dermatologist. But a caution has been mentioned in the blog that the tool does not intend to give a diagnosis and it should not even be a substitute for a medical advice.

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