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An artificial intelligence tool being developed by Duke scientists can be added to the standard toilet to help analyze patients’ stool and give gastroenterologists the information they need to provide appropriate treatment for chronic issues such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
The work is being done by Duke University’s Center for Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Infectious Disease (WaSH-AID), and was presented Saturday at the virtual conference Digestive Disease Week 2021.
“Typically, gastroenterologists have to rely on patient self-reported information about their stool to help determine the cause of their gastrointestinal health issues, which can be very unreliable,” said Deborah Fisher, MD, associate professor of medicine at Duke University and one of the lead authors on the study.
“Patients often can’t remember what their stool looks like or how often they have a bowel movement, which is part of the standard monitoring process,” Fisher said. “The Smart Toilet technology will allow us to gather the long-term information needed to make a more accurate and timely diagnosis of chronic gastrointestinal problems.”
