Voice-activated symptom monitoring after gastrointestinal cancer surgery
Official title: REmote symptom COllection to improVE postopeRative care (RECOVER)
Funded at Medstar Health Research Institute · NIH-11260237 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A voice-activated system will help people recovering from gastrointestinal tumor surgery report symptoms and get timely follow-up, focusing on reducing gaps for Black and Hispanic patients.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Medstar Health Research Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Hyattsville, United States) |
| Project start | July 15, 2023 |
| Project end | December 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $632,868 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MD018424-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11260237 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults who had gastrointestinal tumor surgery, are being discharged to home, and can use or receive a voice-activated device with internet access.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without reliable internet or those with severe speech or hearing impairments, or who had non-gastrointestinal surgeries, are unlikely to benefit from this intervention.
What this research studies
You'll use a voice-assisted device (like Amazon Alexa) at home to report symptoms after GI tumor surgery. The team uses AI and natural language processing to interpret your voice reports and alert clinicians when concerning symptoms appear. People will be randomly assigned to the voice system or usual care so researchers can compare complications, readmissions, and follow-up. The project focuses on reducing disparities and builds on a small pilot that showed good use among mostly Black patients.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the system could catch postoperative problems earlier, lower complications and readmissions, and reduce racial disparities in surgical recovery.
How similar studies have gone: A small pilot using Alexa showed promising uptake among mostly Black patients, but large randomized trials of voice-assisted monitoring are not yet available.
Where this research is happening
-
Medstar Health Research Institute
Hyattsville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Shara, Nawar — Medstar Health Research Institute
- Study coordinator: Shara, Nawar
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.