Google DeepMind AI to help doctors treat head and neck cancers ZDNet

Google's DeepMind is aiming to help cut the time spent identifying key areas to treat, and avoid, in radiotherapy. Google's DeepMind is partnering with the UK's NHS to explore how machine learning could help doctors treat head and neck cancers. DeepMind, the Google subsidiary that beat a human contestant in the notoriously complex game of Go and is helping cut Google's datacenter costs, will be conducting cancer treatment research at the Radiotherapy Department at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust. While privacy and regulation will slow the pace of adoption, AI will bring some profound changes to healthcare. As the AI-research unit notes in a blog post, radiotherapy involving sensitive parts of the body, such as the mouth and sinuses, requires careful planning prior to treatment to avoid damaging key nerves and organs.