What began as a half-serious poker night idea turned into Throne — a startup building AI-powered toilet-mounted devices to monitor gut health via computer vision. Now, with $4 million in seed funding led by Moxxie Ventures and angel investors like Lance Armstrong and WHOOP’s co-founder John Capodilupo, Throne is turning heads in digital health. With a prototype ready and a launch slated for 2026, Throne’s journey is a mix of medical promise, serendipitous introductions, and relentless conviction. But will consumers be ready to let an AI-powered toilet analyze their most private data?
Author: Abhay Panchal
Endiatx, the Mayo Clinic–backed startup behind the steerable, swallowable PillBot camera, has quietly transitioned leadership: co-founder and former CEO Torrey Smith has stepped aside, with intellectual property attorney and medtech entrepreneur Arman Nadershahi now at the helm. Smith, still involved in R&D, described Nadershahi as “awesome,” while the new CEO emphasized a vision of making GI diagnostics “faster, simpler, less costly, and more comfortable.”
At DDW 2025, Dr. David Johnson shared ten easy-to-implement insights that may quietly transform how GI conditions are managed. From inulin’s cancer-fighting potential and wearable tech improving IBS and IBD outcomes, to emerging FMT alternatives and AI that boosts colonoscopy accuracy—each finding brings powerful, low-cost tools within reach.
A new DDW 2025 study reveals a surprising truth: most post-polypectomy colorectal cancers are diagnosed before recommended follow-up—and many are already advanced. So, what’s driving these missed opportunities? The quality of the baseline colonoscopy is under scrutiny, with evidence pointing to missed or incompletely resected lesions and significant differences in cancer risk tied to a physician’s adenoma detection rate (ADR). As concerns grow around patient compliance and procedural performance, could noninvasive tools like FIT help close the gap in surveillance? The case for rethinking traditional CRC monitoring is growing.
In a compelling new article, Dr. John Halamka and Paul Cerrato unpack how natural language processing (NLP) is transforming healthcare—turning complex human communication into data machines can analyze, learn from, and act on. From summarizing dense health records to powering ChatGPT, NLP’s blend of computational linguistics and deep learning is quietly reshaping how medicine interacts with technology. But how exactly do machines interpret figurative phrases or reorder grammar across languages? The answer lies in the science of transformers and self-attention—and it’s more intuitive than you might think.
From value-based care to contract renegotiations and patient education, four GI leaders shared with Becker’s how they’re adapting to a shifting payer landscape — and what they’re preparing for next.
Medtronic is spinning off its Diabetes business into a new standalone company—creating waves across the healthcare tech landscape. The move, announced on May 21, 2025, aims to sharpen Medtronic’s focus on high-margin growth areas like robotics, neuromodulation, and cardiovascular innovation. The New Diabetes Company will emerge as the only scaled player with a fully integrated insulin management ecosystem, uniquely positioned for direct-to-consumer leadership. With over 8,000 employees and global reach, the spinout will also free up capital and increase Medtronic’s earnings potential. Why is Medtronic shedding a core business now? The answer may redefine the next chapter of digital chronic…
With 19 million more patients now eligible for colorectal cancer screening, the gastroenterology workforce is under mounting pressure—and private practices are at a breaking point. At DDW 2025, Dr. Asma Khapra warned that the percentage of fully independent GI practices has plunged from 30% to just 13% since 2019. As burnout, administrative burden, and staffing costs rise, private practices must rethink how they retain talent. Khapra offered a compelling strategy centered on the “Iceberg Model of Culture,” urging leaders to focus not just on visible perks, but on invisible elements like trust, fairness, and physician autonomy. Without action, the future…
Imec, in partnership with OnePlanet Research Center, introduced a highly miniaturized ingestible sensor for real-time gut health monitoring. Demonstrated live at ITF World 2025, the sensor is three times smaller than conventional capsule endoscopies and is the first to measure redox balance—an indicator of oxidative stress and inflammation—along with pH and temperature throughout the gastrointestinal tract. The device, just 2.1 cm long and 0.75 cm in diameter, offers a non-invasive alternative to traditional endoscopy and colonoscopy, which can be uncomfortable and limited in scope.
This wasn’t just a talk. It was a line in the sand. What if we’re solving the wrong problem in GI?What if the real question isn’t how efficiently we scope……but whether we should be doing them at all—at the scale we do today? At the AGA Tech Summit in Chicago, I posed a challenge: The future isn’t coming. It’s already here. And what happens in 2035 depends entirely on the actions we take—or avoid—today. GI is at a BIG inflection point. Most won’t realize until it’s already passed them by. There’s no rewinding this.This keynote is about more than technology. It’s about…