Inside STAT: Google enlists the military to test its cancer-detection AI

(MOLLY FERGUSON FOR STAT)

Google just scored an important deal with the Department of Defense to have its AI models be embedded into microscopes at Veterans Affairs hospitals and other military health facilities to help pathologists better detect breast, colon, and prostate cancers. The deal marks an important step in taking the company's AI software to the next level — so far, its technology's potential to detect cancer earlier and with more accuracy has only been shown through research papers. This new deal may yield some real-world evidence to support what Google touts, such as whether the tool can improve survival and benefits for patients. Although Google's algorithms have seemed impressive, “they’ve done nothing with them, or at least they haven’t come out into the public domain,” pathologist Rajiv Dhir tells STAT's Casey Ross. “Since this is a federal-private collaboration, the hope is that it leads to something,” he says. STAT Plus subscribers can read more here.