Democracy Dies in Darkness

In our eyes, Google’s software sees heart attack risk

February 19, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. EST
A scan of the back of the human eye (left), and how Google's algorithm sees it. The green highlights are the parts the algorithm found most helpful in predicting blood pressure. (UK Biobank/Google)

By looking at the human eye, Google’s algorithms were able to predict whether someone had high blood pressure or was at risk of a heart attack or stroke, Google researchers said Monday, opening a new opportunity for artificial intelligence in the vast and lucrative global health industry.

The algorithms didn’t outperform existing medical approaches such as blood tests, according to a study of the finding published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering. The work needs to be validated and repeated on more people before it gains broader acceptance, several outside physicians said.