Google Lens could one day help you identify handwritten medical prescriptions

What you need to know

• Google made some exciting announcements at its annual conference in India.
• Google Lens to get new abilities to help identify medicines from a prescription given by a doctor.
• The feature is currently in the prototype phase, and a wide rollout to consumers is unlikely at its current stage.

Google for India event this Monday has revealed some interesting new things that Google has been working on, including its Google Search, YouTube, and Google Lens.

For instance, we all know how difficult it can be to read a handwritten medical prescription. Google Lens is gearing up to be a savior in identifying what's prescribed in such scenarios.

Google mentioned during the event (via TechCrunch) and tweeted from Google India handle about its next AI significance in Google Lens. The company stated that it is working on identifying what's written on medical prescriptions. It is building an assistive model to digitize the text written on the prescription by utilizing AI.

The feature showcased through a video on Twitter is still in the early stage. However, it gives us an idea of how it works. On an Android device, users can scan the prescription by opening a camera or choose the previously selected prescription from the media library.

The typically written prescription gets scanned as Google Lens usually does with other things and significantly identifies medicines mentioned. Later, the mentioned medicines are showcased right below, hinting at other suggestions; also, read out the medicine if you click the speaker name right next to the medicine moniker. It perhaps helps pronounce the drug/tablet for those unaware.

While it looks promising to say the least and saves your struggle in identifying medicines prescribed by a doctor, Google says it is still in the prototype phase.

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"This will act as an assistive technology for digitizing handwritten medical documents by augmenting the humans in the loop such as pharmacists, however no decision will be made solely based on the output provided by this technology," the company said in a statement to TechCrunch.

Aside from the said feature, Google is also reportedly collaborating with healthcare organizations in India. The partnership is to deliver credible and trustworthy search results with the help of Google's Aloud, the tool used to dub or transcribe any video. It is also in testing where a video with multiple audio tracks in several languages can quickly be anointed with a single click once the feature gets rolled out.