Google & Apollo: AI for Early Disease Detection in India

The emergence of Artificial Intelligence as a transformative technology across industries has led to its increasing adoption in healthcare. In this regard, Google has collaborated with Apollo Radiology International to leverage the potential of AI in healthcare. 

In anticipation of the highly awaited Google Health Global Check-Up event, Dr. Sreenivasa Raju Kalidindi, CEO and Medical Director of Apollo Radiology International, and Shravya Shetty, Director & Engineering Lead at Google Health AI Research, shared their insights on the significance of AI in healthcare, highlighting its potential to overcome gaps in access and expertise. 

Dr Kalidindi emphasized the pivotal role of radiology in healthcare and drew attention to the challenges faced by the Indian healthcare system, including the shortage of radiologists and the centralized nature of expertise. 

"The rapid expansion of radiology in the last few decades has led to a significant increase in demand for trained professional radiologists interpreting scans," he explained. This has created the need for innovative solutions to bridge the gap in radiological services, particularly in remote and underserved areas.

During the conversation, Dr. Kalidindi highlighted the potential of AI in the early detection and treatment of tuberculosis (TB), lung cancer, and breast cancer, stressing the need for timely intervention in high mortality rate diseases such as TB. 

"We have been working on detecting TB from chest X-ray scans in a public health setting and diagnosing lung and breast cancers from CT scans and mammograms," shared Dr. Kalidindi, underscoring the wide scope of AI's impact on healthcare.