As of last year, Google Health is a “company-wide effort to help billions of people be healthier” that is split across multiple product teams. At its second annual “The Check Up” event, Google showcased its latest health research and features to help achieve this goal.
Research
During last year’s showcase, the Google Fit app on Android (and later iOS) gained the ability to measure heart and respiratory rate using your phone’s back and front cameras. The goal was to demonstrate “how mobile sensors combined with machine learning can democratize health metrics.”
Google is continuing on this path with new research to explore whether a smartphone (and its existing microphones) placed on a person’s chest can detect heartbeats and whispers. It is in the early stages of clinical study trials.
Listening to someone’s heart and lungs with a stethoscope, known as auscultation, is an essential part of a physical exam. It can help clinicians detect heart valve disorders, such as aortic stenosis, which is important to detect early. Screening for aortic stenosis usually requires specialized equipment, such as a stethoscope or ultrasound, and an in-person evaluation.
Speaking of the heart, Fitbit submitted its PPG (Photoplethysmography) algorithm AFib — used by the Fitbit Charge 5 and Sense’s ECG app to warn of signs of an irregular heartbeat — to the FDA for review after finding that it “accurately identified undiagnosed atrial fibrillation 98% of the time.”
After Soli-powered sleep tracking on the 2nd-gen Nest Hub, ATAP wants to use the Jacquard Tag to help patients recover from orthopedic surgery. Today, this requires people to come to a walking lab for 3D motion capture of joint locations. ATAP and its partners at UCSF are investigating how the existing USB sensor can be used to track such relevant measurements, such as knee angular velocity. This data collected 24/7 can be used to improve the recovery process.
Product
Outside of The Check Up 2022 lab, Google Health wants people to use search to see available health appointment dates/times and book:
Although we are still in the early stages of rolling out this feature, we are working with partners such as MinuteClinic at CVS and a number of scheduling solution providers. We hope to expand features, functionality and our network of partners to make it easier for people to get the care they need.
Meanwhile, YouTube will start showing health source information panels in Japan, Brazil and India this week following a launch in the United States last year.
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