Development of a Precision Nutrition Expert System Combining AI Dietary Image Recognition and Big Data Analysis: A Case Study on Kidney Disease (CKDCare)

October 20, 2026 updated by: China Medical University Hospital

The goal of this interventional study is to evaluate a smartphone-based precision nutrition system for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  1. Do patients with CKD find the CKDCare system easy to use?
  2. Does using the system change patients' dietary intake, including the proportion of ultra-processed foods they consume?

The system, called CKDCare, runs inside the LINE messaging app. It uses artificial intelligence to recognize food from photos, a chatbot to answer everyday diet questions, and a back-end dashboard that lets dietitians review each person's dietary records.

Participants will:

  1. Use the CKDCare system in the LINE app for three months
  2. Take photos of their meals and record what they eat
  3. Complete a questionnaire about how easy the system is to use

Have their routine clinic blood test results and nutritional assessment reviewed as part of their usual care.

Some participants will also take part in a short interview about their experience. Dietitians and physicians who care for CKD patients will use the back-end management system and give feedback on it.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

50

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 Locations

  • Taiwan
      • Taichung, Taiwan, 40447
        • China Medical University Hospital

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

20 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

CKD patients:

  • Aged 20 years or older
  • Physician-diagnosed chronic kidney disease
  • Available dietary records from the outpatient nutrition clinic

Healthcare professionals:

- Clinical dietitian certified in CKD nutrition, CKD outpatient dietitian, or nephrologist

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Younger than 20 years of age
  • No available dietary records from the outpatient nutrition clinic

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: CKD patients

Adults aged 20 years or older with a physician-diagnosed chronic kidney disease, recruited from the outpatient nutrition clinic. Participants used the CKDCare LINE chatbot to record their meals and receive personalized dietary advice for three months.
Device: CKDcare

Participants will use the CKDCare system, a dietitian-led LINE chatbot integrating dietary self-monitoring, personalized nutrition feedback, and nutrition education for CKD self-management.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
System Usability Scale (SUS) score
Time Frame: At 3 months (end of the system trial period)

Usability of the CKDCare system measured by the 10-item System Usability Scale. Total score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better perceived usability.
At 3 months (end of the system trial period)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)
Time Frame: Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)

Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) will be obtained from routine clinical laboratory records and expressed in mL/min/1.73 m². Changes from baseline to 3 months will be evaluated.
Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)
Blood urea nitrogen (BUN)
Time Frame: Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)

Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) will be obtained from routine clinical laboratory records and expressed in mg/dL. Changes from baseline to 3 months will be evaluated.
Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)
Serum creatinine
Time Frame: Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)

Serum creatinine will be obtained from routine clinical laboratory records and expressed in mg/dL. Changes from baseline to 3 months will be evaluated.
Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)
Serum albumin
Time Frame: Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)

Serum albumin will be obtained from routine clinical laboratory records and expressed in g/dL. Changes from baseline to 3 months will be evaluated.
Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)
Serum potassium
Time Frame: Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)

Serum potassium will be obtained from routine clinical laboratory records and expressed in mmol/L. Changes from baseline to 3 months will be evaluated.
Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)
Serum phosphorus
Time Frame: Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)

Serum phosphorus will be obtained from routine clinical laboratory records and expressed in mg/dL. Changes from baseline to 3 months will be evaluated.
Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)
Hemoglobin (Hb)
Time Frame: Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)

Hemoglobin will be obtained from routine clinical laboratory records and expressed in g/dL. Changes from baseline to 3 months will be evaluated.
Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)
Daily energy intake
Time Frame: Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)

Daily energy intake will be assessed using dietary records and expressed in kilocalories per day (kcal/day). Changes from baseline to 3 months will be evaluated.
Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)
Daily protein intake
Time Frame: Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)

Daily protein intake will be assessed using dietary records and expressed in grams per day (g/day). Changes from baseline to 3 months will be evaluated.
Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)
Daily sodium intake
Time Frame: Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)

Daily sodium intake will be assessed using dietary records and expressed in milligrams per day (mg/day). Changes from baseline to 3 months will be evaluated.
Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)
Daily potassium intake
Time Frame: Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)

Daily potassium intake will be assessed using dietary records and expressed in milligrams per day (mg/day). Changes from baseline to 3 months will be evaluated.
Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)
Daily phosphorus intake
Time Frame: Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)

Daily phosphorus intake will be assessed using dietary records and expressed in milligrams per day (mg/day). Changes from baseline to 3 months will be evaluated.
Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)
Subjective Global Assessment (SGA)
Time Frame: Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)

Nutritional status will be assessed by a dietitian using the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA), classified as well nourished (A), moderately malnourished (B), or severely malnourished (C). Changes in nutritional status from baseline to 3 months will be evaluated.
Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)
Proportion of ultra-processed food intake
Time Frame: Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)

The proportion of ultra-processed food intake will be assessed using the NOVA food classification system. Kidney disease-specific therapeutic nutritional supplements will be excluded from the calculation. Changes from baseline to 3 months will be evaluated.
Baseline and after the intervention (at 3 months)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

China Medical 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 (Actual)

March 25, 2026

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 23, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

September 23, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 13, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 17, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 21, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 20, 2026

Last Verified

October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CMUH114-REC1-021

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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.

Subscribe