Google announced a new "Nanoparticle Platform" project Tuesday to develop medical diagnostic technology using nanoparticles, Andrew Conrad, head of the Google X Life Sciences team, disclosed at The Wall Street Journal's WSJD Live conference.
The concept involves nanoparticles with magnetic cores circulating in the bloodstream, equipped with recognition molecules to detect conditions such as cancer, plaques, or excess sodium. While similar research using magnetic and other nanoparticles is already underway, Google's approach is distinctive: delivering the particles via a pill and using a wearable wrist detector to sense their magnetic field and read out diagnostic results.
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But the project remains an ambitious moonshot. "Google is at least five to seven years away from a product approved for use by doctors," said Sam Gambhir, chairman of radiology at Stanford University Medical School, who has been advising Conrad on the project for more than a year, according to the WSJ.
Even if the system works, interpreting the results would not be immediately clear. That is why Conrad's team started the Baseline study, which he hopes will create a benchmark for comparisons. As part of Baseline, the Google X Life Sciences group has been developing related wearable technology for participants to collect data such as heart rates, heart rhythms, and oxygen levels.
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Separately, a Google-designed contact lens uses a tiny wireless chip and miniaturized glucose sensor embedded between two layers of soft contact lens material. The chip was originally intended to help people with diabetes manage blood sugar levels.
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