Venture capital investor Eileen Burbidge is on the review panel. Eileen Burbidge A panel comprised of government tech leaders and healthcare experts has started scrutinising the work of Google DeepMind's healthcare team.

DeepMind, a British AI startup acquired by Google in 2014 for £400 million, is processing NHS patient data through a new division called DeepMind Health.

Mustafa Suleyman, DeepMind cofounder and head of DeepMind Health, told Business Insider on Monday that the review panel met roughly four to five weeks ago.

The board includes the likes of Tech City UK chair Eileen Burbidge, former government chief digital officer Mike Bracken, and The Lancet Editor-in-Chief, Richard Horton.

It's unclear at this stage what was the panel discussed at the meeting but it's likely that addressed Google DeepMind's partnership with the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which was criticised by privacy campaigners. They're also likely to have spoken about Google DeepMind's partnership with Moorfields Eye Hospital, which was announced on Tuesday.

The London-based AI lab says its technology has the potential to improve the way patients are diagnosed and treated but it acknowledges that working in healthcare requires regular and independent oversight. As a result, it set up a reviewer board for DeepMind Health when it launched the unit in February.

DeepMind states on its website that the board will meet four times a year but the nine individuals on the board had not met when Business Insider made enquiries in April.