BOULDER, Colo. - ColoradoDesk -- Faex Health, a digital health startup developing AI-powered gastrointestinal pre-screening technology, today announced the launch of a clinical validation trial with Hospital Dr. Sótero del Río, one of Chile's largest teaching and research hospitals. The study will evaluate whether Faex Health's smartphone-based stool analysis platform can help identify patients at elevated risk for colorectal abnormalities while they await diagnostic colonoscopy procedures.

The collaboration comes as healthcare systems worldwide face rising colorectal cancer rates and worsening screening delays. Colorectal cancer remains the third most commonly diagnosed cancer globally and one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths. Despite the importance of early detection, millions of patients continue experiencing delays in colonoscopy access due to healthcare capacity constraints, cost barriers, and screening avoidance.

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Faex Health is developing an AI-powered platform that allows patients to securely capture stool imagery through a smartphone interface. The technology is designed to analyze visual biomarkers associated with gastrointestinal abnormalities — including the potential presence of blood in stool — to help support earlier medical evaluation and improve patient prioritization within overloaded screening systems.

The platform is not intended to diagnose colorectal cancer, but rather to function as a low-cost, non-invasive pre-screening and risk stratification tool that may help providers identify which symptomatic patients require more urgent follow-up and diagnostic evaluation.

The clinical trial will enroll patients already undergoing standard colorectal screening procedures, including Fecal Immunochemical Tests (FIT tests) and colonoscopies. Researchers will compare Faex Health's AI-generated assessments against confirmed clinical findings to evaluate the platform's predictive accuracy and clinical utility.

"This trial represents an important milestone in our mission to make gastrointestinal screening more accessible, scalable, and proactive," said Landon Nattrass, Co-Founder and CEO of Faex Health. "Healthcare systems around the world are struggling with growing demand for colonoscopies and long patient wait times. We believe AI-powered digital health tools can help patients and providers identify warning signs earlier and support faster intervention for those most at risk."

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Clinical staff involved in the initiative emphasized the growing importance of evaluating AI and digital biomarkers in real-world healthcare settings.

"Preventive healthcare depends on helping patients stay engaged before disease progresses," said a clinical representative involved with the trial at Hospital Dr. Sótero del Río. "Technologies like this could potentially serve as an additional reference tool alongside physician evaluation and existing screening methods."

Faex Health believes smartphone-based screening support tools could ultimately help lower barriers to gastrointestinal screening, improve engagement with preventive healthcare, and accelerate conversations between patients and physicians when symptoms arise.

https://faexhealth.com/