Patient stool analysis system

Main article: Smart Toilets

2021: Announcement of an AI tool for analyzing the stool of patients

At the end of May 2021, an AI tool for analyzing the patient's stool was presented at Duke University. This technology will allow gastroenterologists to gather the information needed to properly treat chronic GI diseases such as inflammatory diseases and irritable bowel syndrome.

Usually, gastroenterologists have to rely on the words of the patient himself, which may not always be reliable.

Patients often cannot remember what stools look like or how often they defecate, "said Duke University associate professor and one of the authors of the study, Deborah Fisher. - Smart toilet technology will allow us to collect information over the vast period of time required for more accurate and timely diagnosis of chronic GI diseases.

Duke University Creates Smart Toilet Analyzing Stool to Properly Treat GI Conditions

For example, a smart toilet will identify an exacerbation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or assess the response to treatment or a new diet. Installing this technology in bathrooms in long-term care facilities will improve initial diagnosis of acute conditions.

The tool is installed in the tubes of existing toilets, and then the AI algorithm collects an image of feces and establishes possible human diseases. The neural network was trained on more than 3,000 images of the chair. All images were viewed and annotated by gastroenterologists according to the Bristol Stool Scale - an important clinical tool for stool assessment. Using a neural network, the researchers found that the algorithm accurately classified the shape of the stool 85% of the time and correctly determined the presence of blood in 76% of the images.

Researchers hope to soon introduce the technology in long-term care facilities, since patients living there are often unable to report their condition and are in a particularly vulnerable position.^[1]

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