A New Device Eases One of the Most Annoying Parts of Routine Physicals
Nobody likes getting a swab shoved up their nose. A startup in Japan has developed a much less intrusive system.
In 2022, Iris Nodoca introduced a revolutionary device, Nodoca, that utilizes AI to analyze pharyngeal images for influenza assessment, significantly reducing the discomfort caused by traditional nasal swab tests. The device has been integrated into over 2,000 medical institutions in Japan, and recently received approval for a new function pertaining to Covid-19.
Its developer, Okuyama, a former emergency physician, recognized the importance of sensing—how data is acquired—in medical AI, leading to the development of their hardware focused on pharyngeal images. Initially, there were no existing training data for AI focused on the throat, so Okuyama collected data from 100 medical institutions over three years.
As the device gained popularity, its accuracy improved rapidly, with the number of throat images growing to several million. Nodoca's potential extends beyond infectious diseases, as it can also detect lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Okuyama envisions a future where AI is implemented at every stage of healthcare, from medical interviews and online consultations to in-person care and specialist treatments.
He actively proposes regulatory reforms and is already preparing for overseas expansion, with clinical trials in the United States under consideration.
Written by urgent.news from Wired's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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