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hubie [soylentnews.org] writes:

Machine learning goes with the flow [pdf press release [cloudfront.net]]:

An artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm trained to listen to patients pass urine is able to identify abnormal flows and could be a useful and cost-effective means of monitoring and managing urology patients at home

The deep learning tool, Audioflow, performed almost as well as a specialist machine used in clinics, and achieves similar results to urology residents in assessing urinary flow. The current study focuses on sound created by urine in a soundproof environment, but the ambition is to create an app so patients can monitor themselves at home.

Uroflowmetry is an important tool for the assessment of patients with symptoms, but patients have to urinate into a machine during outpatient visits. They are asked to urinate into a funnel connected to the uroflowmeter which records information about flow. During the COVID-19 pandemic access to clinics has been restricted, and even where patients can attend, the test can take a long time with queues to use a single machine.

[...] "Our AI can outperform some non-experts and comes close to senior consultants," he continues. "But the real benefit is having the equivalent of a consultant in the bathroom with you, every time you go. We are now working towards the algorithm being able to work when there is background noise in the normal home environment and this will make the true difference for patients."

Audioflow will now be rolled out as a smartphone app via primary care physicians so it can be tested in the real world and learn from different datasets in different noise environments.

Soon you'll be able to get critiques from Alexa as you go to the bathroom.

Original Submission