The AGA Tech Summit Shark Tank is our annual reminder that the field of GI is ripe for innovation. Continue reading for an overview of the five new technologies pitched to our panel of sharks. For additional information on all of these innovations, read the session recap in GI & Hepatology News.
THE SMART TOILET SEAT
A toilet seat developed by Toi Labs, called TrueLoo, is equipped with lighting and cameras that captures images of bowel movements and urination for subsequent analysis. The company describes TrueLoo as a low-cost disease-screening tool that has major potential for early detection of conditions ranging from dehydration to gastrointestinal cancer.
AI TO AID SCREENING ENDOSCOPY
A new tool called Ultivision, being developed by the startup Docbot, was described as a strategy to employ artificial intelligence (AI) to aid endoscopists in screening for dysplasia in either screening colonoscopy or in surveillance of Barrett’s esophagus. The tool integrates with existing endoscopic tools. As tissue is visualized, the AI is programmed to highlight suspected dysplasia with a colored box to alert the endoscopist.
OBESITY PHENOTYPING TOOL
The Pheno Test, developed by Phenomix Sciences, applies “multi-omics” to a blood-based test to separate patients with obesity into four phenotypes: hungry brain (satiation signal is impaired), hungry gut (signals to eat are upregulated), emotional hunger (psychological reasons drive eating behavior) and slow metabolism (failure to burn fat at normal rates). With this knowledge, treatment can be tailored appropriately leading to better outcomes.
CAPSULE DIAGNOSTIC TOOL
The Atmo Gas Capsule from Atmo Biosciences is an ingestible capsule that measures gases at the source, accelerating the diagnosis of diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). According to the company, this technique is highly accurate and offers an alternative to more invasive and expensive diagnostic tools.
WINNER: “ALL-IN-ONE” IBD APP
Our Shark Tank winner by both popular vote from AGA Tech Summit attendees as well as the six-member Shark Tank panel was Oshi Health, selected for its IBD app. The app allows patients to track symptoms, a first step in understanding personalized flare pattern, as well as find resources to learn about their disease and communicate with other patients about their experiences. In a future iteration, information gathered by the app will be made available to physicians to provide current information about disease status to better individualize therapy.
Hear from Dan Weinstein, CEO of Oshi Health, in this brief video clip.
Mark your Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) calendar for the first-ever DDW Shark Tank: Sunday, May 19, 4-5:30 p.m. at the San Diego Convention Center. Dan Weinstein and Chang-Hee Kim, our 2018 AGA Shark Tank winner, will face up against contestants from the other DDW sponsoring societies. Only one contestant will be crowned the winner.
