For healthcare practitioners and senior living providers, Google’s large language model technology has been a valuable tool, answering medical questions faster and more efficiently by using ChatGPT. Now, Google has added image analysis capabilities to its tool, increasing the level of care that patients and residents can receive. The upgraded tool could make a big difference for healthcare organizations, including senior living operators, in improving care standards.
Google’s AI-based tool, Med-PaLM 2, is a large language model that was trained by Google’s health research team with medical knowledge to answer medical questions using summarized insights from medical texts. It was the first large language model to perform at “expert” level on US Medical Licensing Exam-style questions, achieving 85% accuracy. The tool can now analyze images such as X-rays and mammograms, along with text. The added capabilities make it possible for healthcare providers and senior living organizations to provide even better care
Similar models in the marketplace either analyze images or answer questions, but by combining the two capabilities on one system, physicians have the ability to question the large language model’s conclusions, according to Healthcare Dive.
Google is making Med-PaLM 2 available to a small group of Google Cloud customers for feedback later this summer to pinpoint safe and helpful use cases. Google also is working on Gemini, a new model that will help with future innovations in memory and planning and also can be used across industries such as senior care.
Elsewhere in the marketplace, healthcare tech startups are also investing in machine learning and AI technologies at higher levels. Total US investment in AI and ML healthcare investment rose overall in the past few years, from $8.6 billion in 2020 to $13.9 billion in 2021, though it receded slightly in 2022 to $10.1 billion, according to commercial and real estate investment company Jones Lang LaSalle.
