'Smart Toilet' can look for signs of diseases, claim scientists

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the entire world, scientists and researchers have been hankering to find a preventive measure, if not a solution, to the tragedies like this.

The latest is the "smart toilet".

This toilet can detect signs of various diseases in a person's stool and urine, an Indian American scientist-led team from Stanford University has claimed.

They have developed a disease-detecting "precision health" smart toilet that is meant to monitor users for multiple signs of illness. It is basically a device that fits inside a toilet and uses motion-sensing technology in addition to cameras and test strips to analyse what is inside the toilet and send the data to a secure server.

The diseases that can be detected also include some cancers, such as colorectal or urologic cancers.

The device has so far been tested on 21 people as part of a study published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

Dr Sanjiv 'Sam' Gambhir, professor and chair of radiology at Stanford University's School of Medicine, says his smart toilet concept has been in the works for more than 15 years.

"When I'd bring it up, people would sort of laugh because it seemed like an interesting idea, but also a bit odd," he said, adding, "everyone uses the bathroom – there’s really no avoiding it – and that enhances its value as a disease-detecting device."

In the future, Gambhir said, the system could be integrated into any health care provider's record-keeping system for quick and easy access