Google's AI unit is getting access to a set of 1 million anonymized eye scans with the aim of improving the detection and prevention of common eye diseases.

Fresh off a stunning victory in a nearly-impossible-to-master board game, Google's DeepMind artificial intelligence project is bringing its brainpower to the humble eye scan. Google, which acquired British startup DeepMind in 2014, is partnering with the UK's state-run National Health Service. The mission: to create a system whereby sight-threatening conditions can be diagnosed from just a single scan of the eye, the company said Tuesday. Together, these diseases affect more than 100 million people worldwide, according to Google. Google will investigate how DeepMind's technology can be taught to analyze scans for the two diseases --the diagnoses of which have been time-consuming efforts for eye doctors due to their complexity.

Google's DeepMind division has announced a partnership with the NHS's Moorfields Eye Hospital to apply machine learning to spot common eye diseases earlier. The five-year research project will draw on one million anonymous eye scans which are held on Moorfields' patient database, with the aim to speed up the complex and time-consuming process of analysing eye scans. The hope is that this will allow diagnoses of common causes of sight loss, like diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration, to be spotted more rapidly and hence be treated more effectively. For example, Google says that up to 98 percent of sight loss resulting from diabetes can be prevented by early detection and treatment. Mobile app called "Streams" provides medical staff with latest clinical information.

Google and the U.K.'s government health service have partnered to study whether computers can be trained to spot degenerative eye problems early enough to prevent blindness. Google DeepMind, the London-based artificial intelligence unit owned by Alphabet Inc., announced a research partnership today with the National Health Service to gain access to a million anonymous eye scans. DeepMind will use the data to train its computers to identify eye defects. The aim is to give doctors a digital tool that can read an eye-scan test and recognize problems faster. Earlier detection of eye disorders related to diabetes and age-related macular degeneration could allow doctors to prevent loss of vision in many people, according to a statement by DeepMind Tuesday announcing the project with the Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

NVIDIA invented the graphics processing unit (GPU) in 1999. To some, it seems counterintuitive that a chip originally designed to play 3D games has become the engine of today's AI revolution. But in fact the problem of computer graphics has features in common with many other applications, from computational fluid dynamics and medical imaging to computer vision and natural language processing. At a high level, the unifying factor is that these problems can be parallelised. Our chip might be called a'graphics' processor, but in fact it's an incredibly versatile parallel processing engine which is playing a pivotal role in democratising AI.

Google's DeepMind AI business unit is hoping to teach computers to diagnose eye disease, using patient data from a U.K. hospital. Using deep learning techniques, DeepMind hopes to improve diagnosis of two eye conditions: age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, both of which can lead to sight loss. If these conditions are detected early enough, patients' sight can be saved. One way doctors look for signs of these diseases is by examining the interior of the eye, opposite the lens, an area called the fundus. They can do this either directly, with an ophthalmoscope, or by taking a digital fundus scan.

First they buy up a load of robotics companies for a series of undisclosed fees, and now they've gone splurged a reported 400million on buying an artificial intelligence firm. For a company whose motto is "Don't be evil", Google appears to doing its utmost to place itself in the Skynet role in our increasingly inevitable dystopian future. Earlier this month we told you how robots are going to be one of 2014's tech trends after Google made Boston Dynamics the eighth robotics company its bought in the last 12 months. And now its just made UK artificial intelligence start-up Deep Mind its largest European acquisition to date. DeepMind specialises in algorithms and machines learning for e-commerce and games and is the brainchild of Shane Legg, Mustafa Suleyman and Demis Hassabis, a neuroscientist and former teenage chess prodigy.

Diabetes can result in a common complication--known as diabetic retinopathy--that damages the back of the eye, known as the retina. The chronic disease can cause vision loss if left untreated. But, if caught early, patients can significantly reduce the risk of blindness. Google's DeepMind, which specializes in artificial intelligence, is partnering with Britain's National Health Service (NHS) to do just that. The NHS is Britain's publicly funded healthcare system--free to use, treating a million patients every 36 hours, and consisting of one of the largest workforces in the world.

Even the also-rans fared better, TechRepublic notes. Despite tougher demands, only four competitors failed to score (versus half in the 2015 challenge). Nearly half of the entries managed over 40 points, which would have been good enough to get third place a year ago. TU Delft and other entrants aren't about to replace people any time soon. Human workers typically pick 400 items per hour, and they won't suffer the 16.7 percent failure rate of the Picking Challenge leader.

Google DeepMind has announced a brand new research project in partnership with the NHS. The collaboration will see Google's artificial intelligence division working with London's Moorfields Eye Hospital to develop a machine learning system that will detect the early signs of degenerative eye conditions which humans might miss. Though this is the second project DeepMind is embarking on with the NHS, it's the first time the company has used machine learning in purely medical research and DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman says he thinks "one day this work will be a great benefit to patients across the NHS." Moorfields says that analysing complex eye scans is a time consuming process and traditional analysis tools have been unable to explore them fully. It hopes the research with DeepMind will lead to earlier detection and more effective treatment for patients and ultimately help to avoid cases of preventable eye disease.