Call it “selfie science,” perhaps. Researchers are finding that ubiquitous facial images could be used to train artificial intelligence for potential deployment as a clinical decision support tool – assessing a patient’s biological age when deciding on treatment.
An upcoming presentation scheduled for March at the 2026 HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas will provide an overview and dive into results from clinical trials of the deep learning algorithm called FaceAge, which analyzes facial images to predict a person’s biological age and survival factors.
The thinking behind this AI development is that facial analysis may offer more objectivity than a doctor’s visual intuition alone and enhance doctors’ qualitative assessments, says Dr. Raymond Mak, a radiation oncologist with Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and researcher with Mass General Brigham’s AI in Medicine Program.
“What we think is that there is underlying biology, captured in your facial tissues – the skin, the muscles, the blood flow,” he told Healthcare IT News on Thursday.