NASA and Google Test AI ‘Space Doctor’

Star Trek’s fictional Dr. “Bones” McCoy may have had a tricorder, but NASA astronauts could soon have something almost as futuristic and real: An artificial intelligence (AI)-powered medical assistant that can diagnose and help treat illnesses millions of miles from Earth.

Google and NASA are testing the “Crew Medical Officer Digital Assistant,” an AI-powered system to help astronauts with their healthcare needs during extended space missions to the moon, Mars or even farther out, according to a Aug. 7 Google blog post. Such long-range missions can experience a lag in communications with those on Earth.

“Currently, low Earth orbit missions such as those to the International Space Station have frequent and relatively robust connectivity to allow for close collaboration with ground-based support teams,” David Cruley, customer engineer of Google Cloud Platform, told PYMNTS. “However, as distance from the Earth increases, so will latency and communication gaps.”

The communication lag can be as long as 22 minutes one-way on a mission to Mars, according to an April report from NASA, “Assessment of the State of Communication Delay Research in Preparation for Missions Beyond Low Earth Orbit.” Missions to the moon can experience latencies of three to 14 seconds one-way, but Mars missions can have up to a 22-minute one-way delay or 44 minutes round-trip.

Since every second counts in a medical emergency, the AI doctor steps into the gap while the crew waits for connectivity to catch up.

While there will be a human medical officer on board the spacecraft, Cruley said more information and support might be needed in diagnosing medical issues, especially for longer-range space missions. Moreover, if the medical officer is the one with the health problem, the rest of the crew would need help from the AI-powered doctor.

This development comes at a time when NASA is preparing for a new stage of space missions, starting with the Artemis campaign to set up its first long-term presence on the moon. The space agency said on its website that an exploration of the moon will yield scientific discovery, technology advancement and lessons on living and working “on another world as we prepare for human missions to Mars.”

Google and NASA said on the Google post they are currently in the initial phases of testing the AI space doctor. It has undergone preliminary trials in which a panel consisting of doctors and an astronaut evaluated its performance in simulated medical scenarios, Cruley told PYMNTS.

“The next step is to continue testing the model with medical doctors to enhance its accuracy and reliability,” he added.

The AI doctor is trained on spaceflight data and uses natural language processing and machine learning to give astronauts timely, data-driven guidance for managing medical issues during missions.

The model’s performance is measured using what’s called the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, according to Google. This exam is used to assess the skills of medical students and professionals, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Initial results show the AI could deliver “reliable” diagnoses based on reported symptoms, according to Google. The company and NASA are now working with medical experts to refine the system’s accuracy and decision-making.

Cruley says there’s no launch date yet for the AI space doctor. But while the project’s primary mission is to support astronauts, its potential reach is much broader.

“The idea of an AI Digital Health Assistant is portable to Earth-based applications,” Cruley said. “Lessons learned could be applied to providing quality medical care in remote or underserved areas with limited access to healthcare professionals.”