Search
Health, Lifestyle, Science, Society, Tech

A Clean Screen of Health: An Interview with Chun-Hao Huang

by
989

Even though medicine has advanced by leaps and bounds since the dawn of humanity, the best type of healthcare is still preventive care. It is usually far cheaper than healthcare intended for disease or medical treatment, and it can help people to lead  healthier lives if utilized consistently, by giving them regular insights into their body and health.

Preventive health often takes the form of screening, or checking to see if a condition is present before symptoms start to show. One of the more useful, if not surprising, methods for screening is urine and stool sampling. Urine by nature contains waste products that are filtered out of the body, while stools contain bacteria and other substances from the digestive system, making both of them ideal for screening tests. Urine samples are commonly used to detect urinary tract infections and STIs, while stool samples are useful for detecting things like gastroenteritis and Crohn’s disease. Despite their usefulness, these tests often require visits to the doctor, and aren’t very accessible outside the hospital.

Clinicai is working to change that. The California-based company has been researching ways to use intelligent toilet sensor devices to scan stool and urine in homes, without the need for self-collection, and has also recently developed a sensing method for detecting colorectal cancer. I spoke with Chun-Hao Huang, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Clinicai, to learn more about it’s roots, it’s unique technology, and it’s future potential.

CLINICAI intelligent toilet device

In the Photo: Clinicai’s intelligent toilet device. Photo Credit: Clinicai.

What was the original inspiration behind Clinicai?

I have been a cancer biologist and bioengineer for more than 10 years. The problem in the disease field is late detection. However, the main challenge is people only go to the doctor when they feel really sick, so most of the time the disease is already at a late stage when detected. Therefore, since 2014 I started to think about how we can solve this problem, and met my cofounders Medina, Juan Carlos, and “Mr. Toilet” Jack Sim at Singularity University in 2016 to create the solution. How Steve Jobs and Apple “merge technology with humanity” is a true inspiration for me. They brought computers and smart phones to our daily life so perfectly and changed the way we live. Therefore, Clinicai’s mission is to merge biotechnology with humanity, and our vision is to create a future where predictive healthcare is comfortably accessible to everyone.

In addition, the way Elon Musk and Tesla use cars as a platform to solve energy problems, as well as their master plan for providing scalable/affordable products is another inspiration for me. We use bathrooms as a platform to solve health problems, and our goal is to provide a scalable/affordable device which allows  everyone to monitor their health.

Clinicai relies on a system of sensors to monitor health, could you talk more about that and give an example of how they would work in a real-life setting?

Phase one of our master plan, or what we are currently building, is an intelligent toilet sensor device that can identify different users in a family and scan stool and urine, meaning the users themselves don’t need to collect their own stool and urine. After that we will expand to other devices in the bathroom, like mirrors, toothbrushes, shower heads, etc. You would just need to do what you normally do in the bathroom everyday, and this network of sensors would continuously monitor your health.

CLINICAI intelligent platform

In the Photo: Clinicai’s intelligent platform. Photo Credit: Clinicai

Clinicai is also working on developing AI systems, what role do you see those systems having in the future?

We are currently developing machine learning algorithms to identify unique features from the sensor signals to detect colorectal cancer. In the future, I envision that our AI can be personalized, create your health signal pattern and identify any abnormal signals.

It appears that Clinicai’s technology could have a wide range of applications in many different settings, what do you intend your target market to be initially?

The first market we plan to target is the individual user at home. After that we will target the public sector, to allow hospitals to track diseases in a region or population in order to monitor public health.

What does the future of Clinicai look like in your eyes?

I envision that Clinicai will become the global health monitoring platform, and ultimately extend a healthier lifespan for humanity.

 

NOTE: THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED HERE BY IMPAKTER.COM COLUMNISTS ARE THEIR OWN, NOT THOSE OF IMPAKTER.COM COVER PHOTO CREDIT: CLINICAI
0
Tags:
, , , , , , , , , ,
About the Author /

Mohamad Akef is an Impakter columnist and fan of Egyptian football. When he’s not watching a match he enjoys creative writing and outdoor hiking, and is currently studying for his MBA at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley

Post a Comment

Related posts you may also like

Food, Impact, Uncategorized

The food industry is coming under increasing scrutiny for its environmental impact, from greenhouse gas emissions, to excessive and detrimental land and water usage, to chemical pollution. Given the challenge of feeding a growing world population whilst simultaneously needing to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts, clearly we need to look at alternatives to “dinner as usual”. The contribution of livestock to global greenhouse emissions is estimated at between 14.5 – 18%. Fortunately, there are companies who are tackling this challenge head on and looking at how emissions from food production can be reduced. With consumer interest increasing in alternatives to meat and other protein sources, we’ve spoken to the founders of three companies. From the seemingly futuristic to the rediscovery of superfood trees, each company tackles this new drive in consumer interest in different ways.

Solar Foods, Finland

Dr Pasi Vainnika is the CEO and co-founder of Solar Foods. The slogan of the company is “Food out of thin air”. Pasi was formerly in charge of the single largest renewable energy program in Finland. However, when he found out that 20-25% of the emissions come from food, he realized that emissions from this sector needed to be addressed, as well as those in the energy sector. But with the growth in affordable and renewable energy – particularly solar energy– it led him and his team to question the possibility of producing food solely from energy, carbon dioxide, and water. It turns out, the answer is yes. Solein is a unique single cell protein. It is produced using a fully natural fermentation process like that of the production of yeast or lactic acid bacteria. The powder, which is produced from the process, is 50% protein, 5-10% fat and 20-25% carbohydrate. Most likely, the first product to reach the consumer market will be a replacement in existing plant-based foods. For example, using Solein in shakes or as an alternative to dairy in milks, yogurts, and even in breads and pasta. In the future, a lasagna could include the protein in all aspects of the recipe: the sauce, in the pasta sheets, and in the filling. Further into the future, there is also the possibility that it could be used as the basis for cultured meat production.
In the Photo: Solein Can be used in smoothies as a protein alternative. Photo Credit: Shawn Fields - Unsplash
To produce a kilo of the protein powder takes 10 liters of water in comparison to the 2500 liters of water for a kilo of soy or 15,500 liters for a kilo of beef. Electricity is the main raw material, and the plan is to source this from renewable energy sources. Additionally, Solein binds carbon dioxide rather than emitting it, easing pressure on land use. The product is currently going through regulatory checks and testing at the moment, with a plan to launch in 2021. NASA and the Soviet Union space programs had started to investigate in similar protein production for their expeditions in the past, but Solar Foods has brought it down to earth.

Higher Steaks, United Kingdom

Whilst some people are switching to plant-based diets and others have reduced their meat consumption, some others still want to keep meat in their diets but are looking for more environmentally friendly options. This is where lab-based meat comes in. Benjamina Bollag, CEO and co-founder of Higher Steaks, a UK-based company, believes that it is important to provide alternatives to meat with a lower carbon footprint, but that taste as close as possible to the real thing. She believes that the change required in human behavior to cut emissions will not happen fast enough otherwise. This approach is confirmed by research they have conducted. 52% of respondents confirmed that they would switch from conventional meat to the Higher Steaks alternative, with 21% saying they would prefer a plant-based diet. There are different ways of producing lab-based meat. The process that Higher Steaks is developing is based on pluripotent stem cells, which are taken from a small skin patch or blood sample. The meat that is grown is then shaped into products. Currently, Higher Steaks is working primarily on pork products.
In Photo: Higher Steaks will eventually release pork as its first lab-cultured meat. Photo Credit: Yvonne Lee Harijanto - Unsplash
The company has yet to conduct a lifecycle assessment of the lab-grown meat, but given the high levels of environmental impact from meat production, it should be safe to say that Higher Steaks products will be more sustainable. In addition, as Benjamina explains, other advantages include the avoidance of antibiotic use, resulting in a product which is better for the consumer as well. The level of fat can also be adjusted, depending on consumer preference. The company is working to have the first products in shops within 3-5 years.

Barukas, Brazil

Barukas proves that you don’t always to have to look to the future for more sustainable food sources. Sometimes it is about rediscovering and making available a food source which has been around for a long time to a wider audience. The baruzeiro tree, native to Brazil, has been a long-time source of nutrition for people living in the Cerrado, the vast savannah at the heart of Brazil. The tree produces a fruit, which contains the baru nut. It was the nutritional profile of the baru nut that initially attracted Seth Tuckerman, who had formerly been the COO of Beachbody, a fitness business. The nuts are high in protein, fiber, minerals, and are lower in fat than typical nuts. The taste is often described as a cross between peanuts and almonds. In fact, Tuckerman’s immediate thought on tasting them was “low calorie almonds”. Tuckerman’s passion is not only about the positive health benefits, but also about the trees and the mutual benefits for the communities where they grew.
In Photo: Baruzeiro tree. Photo Credit: Barukas
Tuckerman became a co-founder of Barukas Incorporated. They are on a mission to plant 20 million baruzeiro trees – as a start. The trees need little water and – as native trees – they are already ideally suited to the Cerrado conditions. First, Barukas must prove that there is a market for the fruit of the existing trees. As such, the company is encouraging those living in the Cerrado to collect the nuts by guaranteeing to buy them, then creating customer demand for the nuts. Collecting the fruit from existing trees helps to preserve them from being cleared for intensive and invasive agricultural methods such as soy plantations. Likewise, planting new trees helps to reverse the deforestation of Cerrado. A report by the Climate Observatory estimated that the destruction of surface vegetation in the Cerrado released 248 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2016. This is roughly two-and-half times the annual tailpipe emissions from all cars in Brazil.
In Photo: Closer look at the baruzeiro tree. Photo Credit: Barukas.
From talking with these three pioneers, it is now clearer than ever that we need multiple solutions to address how to sustainably feed a growing population. We need to cut the carbon emissions and reduce other environmental impacts such as water and land use associated with food production. Some of these solutions are a little way off in the future, but others are available now. We are what we eat, but our choices will increasingly determine what kind of future we will live in as well.   EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com.
Continue reading

Business, Environment, Essays, Foodscape, Impact, Society

Nothing less than food system transformation is required to address the scale and urgency of the health

Business, Corporations, Society

If a company only pays attention to maximizing profits and neglects its social responsibility, it may eventually

Scroll Up
impakter-logo-light

Editor's Pick Newsletter

~ Once a week only ~

You have Successfully Subscribed!

I confirm that would like to subscribe to Impakter Editor's Pick Newsletter