Google Pixel 4 Face Unlock System Helps Researchers Spot Alzheimer's Disease: Here's How

 

The Google Pixel 4 series has been plagued with many problems, but it looks like researchers have found at least one use case for its Face Unlock system. A team from the University of California, San Diego (UC SD) is using the infrared sensor, arguably one of the smartphone's best features, to detect signs of Alzheimer's disease. This sensor, coupled with a dot projector, enabled the face to unlock. The same sensor is now used to record a person's pupillary response to specific tasks, allowing researchers to identify cognitive impairments.

The Verge spoke to one of the team's researchers and he explained how it all works. The team identified human eyes, specifically the pupil (black dot in the center of the eye), as a measure of detecting Alzheimer's disease - a disease in which brain cells die, causing memory loss in the patient. Researchers recorded students' responses to specific tasks that allowed them to identify cognitive impairments via an app. These impairments were based on the student's functioning during those specific tasks, such as B. memorizing a randomly spoken sequence of numbers.

The app is able to detect imperfections by using the infrared sensor that Google Pixel 4 uses for Face Unlock. The reason the infrared sensor is used is that these cameras are better at detecting the difference between eye color and pupil than standard cameras, the researchers said. After the student's response to specific tasks is recorded, the data is sent to UC SD's DigiHealth Lab, where researchers analyze it.

There is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, but treatment can certainly help. Obviously, the functionality of a smartphone won't be able to replace devices - which could be very expensive - designed specifically to detect Alzheimer's disease, but research like this may offer an inexpensive way to give doctors a head start on treatment To provide. Referral Link