According to an article from CW associate WBCB, Dutch startup Nori Health has started open enrollment in the six-week test of its eponymous experimental chatbot, Nori.
Nori aims to help individuals living with a “manageable chronic condition” make better lifestyle choices. The six-week trial run will specifically target persons with inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease. People living with irritable bowel syndrome are also encouraged to sign up.
Founder Roeland Pater believes his chatbot will help patients stay in best possible shape by monitoring changes in their stress levels, medications, and diets. When needed, Nori will recommend changes in behavior to limit the effects of chronic illness.
About Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a sort of catch-all term for conditions of chronic bowel inflammation. Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are two inflammatory bowel diseases that combined affect some 1.6 million Americans.
Crohn’s disease is characterized by inflammation of the digestive tract lining. The inflammation typically extends deep into the tissues it affects, and if left untreated can lead to life-threatening complications such as infection or colorectal cancer.
Ulcerative colitis is characterized by the formation of persisting ulcers in the innermost lining of the colon and rectum. The ulcers can be painful and are typically accompanied by local inflammation.
Though similar sounding, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is NOT an inflammatory bowel disease. IBS is a non-chronic, non-life threatening, and overall much milder condition than IBD.
About Nori
Nori is an experimental chatbot being developed by Nori Health, a medical technology startup whose foundation is solidly based on the software from which its name is taken.
Before developing Nori, Founder Roeland Pater and his team conducted research and found that many in the IBD community were struggling to find adequate support for their condition between their scheduled medical appointments. That inspired the team to create a program that monitored lifestyle factors that could affect the severity of a person’s IBD symptoms, including hydration, nutrition, and stress.
Pater, himself living with Crohn’s disease, has high hopes for Nori in its initial month-and-a-half test run. He believes the impact lifestyle choices are overlooked by most IBD patients, “…and [Nori is] providing a direct solution for that.”
If you’re interested in signing up for the Nori trial, you can do so here.
