Faex Health Launches Clinical Trial With Chilean Hospital, Evaluate AI Tool for Earlier Colorectal Cancer Risk Detection

Hospital Dr. Sótero del Río partnership aims to study whether smartphone-based stool analysis can help identify higher-risk patients awaiting colonoscopies.

BOULDER, CO, UNITED STATES, May 18, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- 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 clinical trial comes amid growing global concern over rising colorectal cancer rates and worsening screening delays that continue leaving millions of patients waiting months for colonoscopies and specialist follow-up. Early detection remains one of the most important factors in colorectal cancer survival outcomes, yet access barriers, cost, and limited healthcare capacity continue slowing diagnosis worldwide.

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 could help healthcare providers identify which symptomatic patients may require more urgent follow-up.

The 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 accuracy and predictive value.

The study is also expected to generate one of the largest paired datasets of stool imagery, FIT test results, and colonoscopy outcomes assembled to support AI-driven gastrointestinal screening research.

“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.”

Hospital staff involved in the initiative emphasized the growing importance of evaluating AI and digital biomarkers in real-world clinical 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.”

Nursing leadership participating in the study noted that patient engagement and ease of use will play a critical role in the future adoption of preventive digital health technologies.

“Because this is a preventive tool, it aligns closely with the work we do every day,” said the Head Nurse involved in the initiative. “The platform has been easy for patients to understand and use overall, and we believe tools that keep patients more involved with their health between appointments can improve awareness and participation in preventive care.”

The hospital also noted that while younger patients have generally adapted quickly to the platform, the study is helping researchers better understand how digital health tools can be designed to support older populations as adoption expands.

Colorectal cancer is currently the third most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide and remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related death globally. Public health experts continue emphasizing that survival rates improve dramatically when abnormalities are detected early, yet many patients delay screening due to invasiveness, preparation requirements, cost, embarrassment, or limited access to care.

Faex Health believes smartphone-based screening support tools could ultimately help lower those barriers while improving engagement with preventive care and accelerating conversations between patients and physicians when symptoms arise.

The launch of the trial marks a major step in Faex Health’s broader clinical validation and commercialization roadmap as the company continues pursuing partnerships with hospitals, healthcare systems, and providers focused on improving early gastrointestinal screening and preventive care access worldwide.

For more information, visit www.faexhealth.com.

Landon Nattrass
Faex Health
Press@FaexHealth.com
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