Google is collaborating with NASA to develop an AI-powered doctor for Mars missions, a project that could revolutionize healthcare in space travel. The Crew Medical Officer Digital Assistant (CMO-DA) uses Google Cloud’s Vertex AI environment and achieves high accuracy rates in diagnosing common medical issues like flank pain, ear pain, and ankle injuries.
The tool was tested by a panel of three doctors, including an astronaut, and performed well, achieving 74% accuracy for flank pain, 80% for ear pain, and 88% for ankle injury. However, NASA highlights the challenges the AI doctor will face, such as limited trust in AI tools due to potential errors and lack of data on spaceflight-related pathophysiology.
The CMO-DA is designed to provide medical advice and diagnostics independently of Earth, addressing issues like no real-time communication with Earth and limited opportunities for emergency evacuations during long-duration space travel. Mars missions can take up to 223 minutes each way, making conventional real-time medical consultation nearly impossible.
Source: https://uk.pcmag.com/news/159512/nasa-and-google-collaborate-on-ai-doctor-for-mars-trip