GastroCompass Take the Pledge

GastroCompass

Building better ways to understand and act on GI health.

A research-driven initiative in two connected parts: GastroLens, a non-diagnostic tool for organizing colorectal cancer symptom patterns, and Open Me, a community campaign that turns screening awareness into real conversations.

Read the story ↓ GastroLens → OpenMe →

GastroLens — live first version

Open Me — community screening campaign

01 — Origin

It started with a question.

Why were people finding out so late?

GastroCompass began with an observation that did not resolve: colorectal cancer was showing up in people who did not fit the picture most of us have of who gets it. Seeing that up close, in a rural Texas community, was where the question started.

Not with a plan to build a product — with curiosity. Why do symptoms get dismissed? Why does awareness lag behind the actual risk? Those questions turned into a research project, and eventually into two different kinds of answers.

02 — Research

The questions led to research, not a rush to build.

Before any code was written, the work was reading, questioning, and testing whether the idea held up: a completed research paper, a feasibility analysis grounded in NHANES public-health data, and three empirical analyses used to stress-test the concept before committing to a build.

Observe

A pattern of dismissed or delayed symptoms in younger patients.

Question

Why symptom-first warning signs are so easy to explain away.

Study

NHANES-grounded feasibility work and empirical analysis.

Prototype

A symptom-first tool: GastroLens.

1 completed research paper
3 empirical analyses
NHANES public-health data behind the feasibility work
Read the research → Methodology →

03 — GastroLens

A research-mode tool for symptom patterns, not a diagnosis.

It turns scattered symptom history into one structured summary — something to bring to an appointment, not a verdict to act on alone.

Takes in
Persistent warning signs — rectal bleeding, bowel changes — how long they have lasted, and risk context like age and family history.
Gives back
One organized view of the pattern, in plain language, ready to hand to a physician.
Never
A diagnosis, a probability, or a reason to wait on care.
The GastroLens interface, showing demo scenarios, a four-step intake with progress, and its safety framing

Safety framing Informational and non-diagnostic. Not clinically validated. Built to support an earlier conversation with a physician, not to replace one.

Explore GastroLens →

04 — The realization

GastroLens could organize a symptom pattern.

It could not make someone go looking in the first place.

A tool only reaches people who already know to seek it out. Building GastroLens made that limit obvious: the harder problem was never the technology. It was awareness. That realization is what led to Open Me.

05 — Open Me

Off the screen, into everyday places.

Open Me is a community screening-awareness campaign. Printed materials carry a simple colorectal cancer screening reminder into places people already visit, and connect them to clear information, the Open Me pledge, and a reason to talk with a healthcare professional.

Reach

Printed materials — cards, flyers, posters — placed in everyday community spaces.

Inform

A short, direct message: who screening is for, and why it matters.

Connect

A QR code leads to screening basics and the Open Me pledge.

Act

The goal is one next step: talking with a doctor.

A printed Open Me card, one example of the campaign's outreach materials

Example outreach material

Community-facing outreach, designed to work in whatever printed form a place can actually use.

Explore OpenMe →

06 — Take action

Turn awareness into a conversation with your doctor.

Every Open Me material ends in the same place: a short, honest pledge to bring up colorectal cancer screening at your next appointment.

Take the Pledge Takes under a minute

“I commit to asking my doctor about colorectal cancer screening.”

The Open Me pledge, in full

07 — Where it stands

What has been built, and what comes next.

Built so far

  • A research foundationA completed paper, an NHANES-grounded feasibility analysis, and three empirical analyses behind the concept.
  • GastroLens, liveA first-version, non-diagnostic symptom-pattern tool, running and launchable from this site.
  • Open Me materialsPrinted outreach materials designed for community distribution and QR-linked follow-through.
  • A working pledgeA real doctor-talk commitment, collected through Open Me and connected to a live database.

What comes next

  • Wider distributionPlacing Open Me materials in more community spaces, in whatever printed format each one can use.
  • Continued GastroLens developmentRefining the symptom-first logic while keeping it explicitly non-diagnostic.
  • Imaging, as future workAn imaging layer stays on the roadmap until it can be trained and validated on clinically meaningful data.
  • More researchOngoing analysis to keep the project's claims grounded in evidence rather than marketing.

Built by Tanush Nimmalapudi

About the founder →