Google Science Fair lauds artificial brain

A US student has won the top prize at Google’s Science Fair for creating an artificial brain that, she claims, can help detect cancer.

Brittany Wenger, aged just 17, wanted to figure out a less invasive way to test breast tissue samples for signs of cancer, so created a computer program coded to think like a brain.

She won the grand prize at the Google Science Fair for her neural network, which is 99.1% sensitive to malignancy.

“Early detection is really important. And that is what I’m trying to do,” Wenger says.

Wenger compared her findings with already on-the-market products and found her network worked 4.97% better.

While her system isn’t ready for the hospital yet, it could become an invaluable tool for physicians. Wenger says she hopes her work can be “tweaked” to diagnose other kinds of cancer.

If you’re an entrepreneur with an interest in medical technology, perhaps this is worth looking into.