Google has unveiled a comprehensive suite of healthcare-focused updates across its platforms, introducing AI-powered features in Search and expanding medical record capabilities for Android devices.
The tech giant is enhancing its Search experience with expanded "knowledge panel" answers for health-related queries. These AI-driven panels will now cover thousands of medical topics and support multiple languages including Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese on mobile devices.
A new "What People Suggest" feature is rolling out in the U.S., designed to aggregate real user experiences about health conditions from various online forums. This addition aims to complement expert medical information by presenting organized, theme-based perspectives from people with similar health experiences.
For Android users, Google is launching new medical records APIs globally through its Health Connect platform. The system will enable users to access and manage their medical information across different apps, including allergies, medications, immunizations, and lab results in standard FHIR format. The platform now supports over 50 health data types, bridging everyday health tracking with clinical information.
The company also announced that its FDA-cleared Loss of Pulse Detection feature will debut on the Pixel Watch 3 by March's end in the U.S. This safety feature can automatically contact emergency services if it detects a loss of pulse and the user is unresponsive.
In the realm of medical research, Google is preparing to release TxGemma, a new set of open AI models focused on drug discovery, building upon their existing Gemini AI models for healthcare applications.
These updates reflect Google's ongoing commitment to expanding its healthcare capabilities while making medical information more accessible and user-friendly across its ecosystem of products and services.