Google cloud and German healthcare company Bayer announced Tuesday that they are building an AI-powered platform that aims to help radiologists diagnose patients and resolve cases more quickly.
The platform's generative AI flags anomalies within images for radiologists to look at, and can also pull relevant information from that patient's medical history, Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, told CNBC. If a patient comes in for an annual breast cancer exam, for example, the platform can detect current problems, compare the image to previous exams and summarize that information, he said.
Healthcare companies like Bayer will be able to use the platform to develop radiology-specific applications that perform functions like these more easily, Google said.
A radiologist is a doctor who uses medical images such as CT scans, MRIs, and X-rays to identify and treat conditions. But like doctors in many specialties in the United States, radiologists face a growing workforce shortage, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. As of early April, there were more than 1,800 job openings on the American College of Radiology website, compared to about 220 openings in April 2014.
Many radiologists are also struggling with burnout as a population ages, and easier access to imaging technologies has led to increasing caseloads. Google Cloud said its new platform could help alleviate these current workforce challenges.
“That whole process flow is designed to help radiologists perform their task with assistance more quickly,” Kurian said in an interview. “It makes them more efficient so they can see more images and see more patients.”
Kurian said the platform does not replace radiologists, as the doctor still maintains “exclusive control” of the recommendations they will make. Instead, he wants people to see the platform as an assistive tool, like a microscope. The goal is to easily give radiologists the information they need and save them from having to spend 15 or 20 minutes searching through patient records, Kurian said.
Google Cloud and Bayer are not the only companies exploring AI applications for medical imaging. In 2021, the Netherlands-based healthcare company Philips and Amazon Web Services They said they are working to use AI to analyze medical imaging data. Similarly, GE Health Care published a blog post in 2022 about the various AI tools it has developed for radiology.
Keith Kirkpatrick, research director at The Futurum Group, said there is still no clear leader in the medical imaging AI market as the technology is still very new.
“It's very open,” Kirkpatrick told CNBC. “We're still pretty early in the game.”
Kirkpatrick, who was briefed on Tuesday's announcement, said Google Cloud and Bayer's radiology platform will have to demonstrate high levels of technical accuracy, offer strong privacy and security controls and be easy to use to win in the space. The key will be building trust with radiologists, he added.
“Google will have to make sure its technology is as foolproof as possible,” Kirkpatrick said.
Google Cloud has been working with Bayer on the radiology platform for about five years. The foundation was built using existing Google Cloud solutions such as Vertex AI, Healthcare API and BigQuery, and Kurian said data on the platform is encrypted.
The companies leveraged Bayer's expertise in radiology to ensure the product was easy for doctors to use. Bayer said its radiology products generated around 2 billion euros ($2.16 billion) in sales last year, according to a statement.
Still, the platform represents a foray into an entirely new business model for Bayer, according to Guido Mathews, vice president of radiology at Bayer.
“We're not offering a new pill; we're offering a service for which we will charge users accordingly,” Mathews told CNBC in an interview. “Helping to develop models and also helping to implement models for radiology is a big step forward for us.”
Google Cloud and Bayer are exploring several different pricing models for the platform, he said. Other healthcare organizations will begin testing and providing feedback on the platform this year.
