Artificial Intelligence-based Dietary Care System (AI DC-system)

June 3, 2026 updated by: National Taiwan University Hospital

Effectiveness of An Artificial Intelligence-based Dietary Care System for Distress From Altered Bowel Function and Quality of Life in Rectal Cancer Patients With Low Anterior Resection Syndrome

Patients with rectal cancer complicated by low anterior resection syndrome who undergo anal-preserving surgery may experience severe distress in daily life due to changes in bowel function, thus requiring significant post-discharge care support from healthcare professionals. This study is a multicenter, non-blinded randomized controlled trial. One hundred patients with rectal cancer complicated by low anterior resection syndrome are planned to be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio from the colorectal surgery outpatient clinics of National Taiwan University Hospital, its Cancer Center, and its Yunlin Branch. They will be divided into a control group receiving routine dietary education and an experimental group receiving both routine dietary education and the use of an artificial intelligence-based dietary care system application. The artificial intelligence-based dietary care system application will be used for approximately six months. Three questionnaires will be administered at one month post-surgery (before intervention), three months post-surgery, and six months post-surgery. The questionnaires will include: a demographic data sheet, a low anterior resection syndrome score, distress inventory from altered bowel functioning, and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-30 Scale, to verify the effectiveness of the artificial intelligence-based dietary care system application in improving bowel disturbance and quality of life in patients with rectal cancer complicated by low anterior resection syndrome.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
      • Taipei, Taiwan, 10617
        • National Taiwn University, College of Medicine
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥18 years.
  • Clear consciousness with ability to communicate in Mandarin or Taiwanese.
  • Histopathological confirmation of rectal adenocarcinoma.
  • Undergoing radical rectal resection or such surgery combined with temporary stoma closure.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of other intestinal disorders, including intestinal tumors, bloating, obstruction, ulcerative colitis, or irritable bowel syndrome.
  • Inability to access the internet.
  • Inability to use a smartphone.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Artificial Intelligence-based Dietary Care System
Care program will conduct by Artificial Intelligence-based Dietary Care System.
Device: Artificial Intelligence-based Dietary Care System
  1. Large language model-based communication for patient interaction, system guidance, analytic feedback, dietary recommendations, and referral information.
  2. AI-driven image analysis using regional convolutional neural networks, linked to a database of over 100,000 meals and national dietary reference standards, enabling estimation of food types, portions, and nutrient intake.
  3. Bowel movement tracking interface for recording time, frequency, and stool characteristics.
Active Comparator: Routine care
Routine dietary education during hospitalization is provided via hospital-developed electronic materials accessible through QR code scanning.
Other: Routine Care
Content covers postoperative dietary progression, nutritional supplementation, intake principles, and food avoidance. The postoperative regimen typically advances through four stages-clear liquid, low-residue semi-liquid, low-residue soft, and regular diet-with most patients resuming normal intake within one month. Guidance emphasizes high-protein, high-calorie foods, small frequent meals, and balanced nutrition, while advising avoidance of gas-producing, odorous, coarse-fiber, greasy, spicy, pickled, and dairy products.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30)
Time Frame: Three-time frames are at one-month post-surgery (before intervention), three- months post-surgery, and six-months post-surgery.
This 30-item instrument assesses cancer-related QoL across global health, five functional domains (physical, role, cognitive, emotional, and social), and nine symptom scales (fatigue, nausea/vomiting, pain, dyspnea, sleep disturbance, appetite loss, constipation, diarrhea, and financial difficulty) [22, 23]. Higher scores for functioning and global health indicate better QoL, whereas higher symptom scores denote greater symptom burden.
Three-time frames are at one-month post-surgery (before intervention), three- months post-surgery, and six-months post-surgery.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Distress Inventory for Altered Bowel Functioning (DI-ABF)
Time Frame: Three-time frames are at one-month post-surgery (before intervention), three- months post-surgery, and six-months post-surgery.
Developed by Lu et al., the 16-item DI-ABF measures distress arising from altered bowel functioning across three domains: daily life, emotional regulation, and social functioning, with higher scores reflecting greater distress. Cut point 9.5 divided to be no bowel-related distress (0-9.5) and bowel-related distress (>9.5).
Three-time frames are at one-month post-surgery (before intervention), three- months post-surgery, and six-months post-surgery.

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Low Anterior Resection Syndrome (LARS) Score
Time Frame: Three-time frames are at one-month post-surgery (before intervention), three- months post-surgery, and six-months post-surgery.
Developed by Emmertsen and Laurberg [21], this tool evaluates five aspects of bowel dysfunction: flatus incontinence, fecal incontinence, bowel frequency, clustering, and urgency. Scores range from 0 to 42, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms. Severity is categorized as no LARS (0-20), minor LARS (21-29), and major LARS (30-42).
Three-time frames are at one-month post-surgery (before intervention), three- months post-surgery, and six-months post-surgery.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Taiwan University Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 3, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 3, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 10, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 3, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 202603195RIND

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

For privacy protection considerations, no individual praticipant data will be shared.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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