Google eye AI passes one million patients in three countries

A single deep learning eye-screening tool has moved from one hospital to more than a million patients across India, Thailand and Australia, according to a Comment published in Nature Medicine on 23 September 2026.

The three anchor deployments run at Aravind Eye Care System in Madurai, Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok, and Lions Outback Vision at the Lions Eye Institute in Western Australia. The Google-led authors, led by Richa Tiwari, write that 'Scaling a successful deep learning tool across three highly distinct settings—in India, Thailand and Australia—offers cross-cutting insights that may inform the expansion of healthcare artificial intelligence globally.'

Google licensed the model to three in-country commercial partners, Forus Health, AuroLab and Perceptra, who run the day-to-day screening. The company has previously said partners aim to deliver six million AI-supported screenings across India and Thailand over the next ten years, up from more than 600,000 reported globally in October 2024. Two researchers we follow flagged the paper the day it landed.

Only the abstract is public. Per-country accuracy numbers, workflow-integration notes and regulatory friction all sit behind the journal's paywall, so most of the 'practical lessons' framing is not yet checkable outside subscribers.