smart toilets snap pictures that help with diagnoses

the technology, presented at digestive disease week by a researcher from duke university, turns normal toilets into smart thrones that use artificial intelligence to photograph and analyze bowel movements mere moments after they occur. the devices, which can be installed within the plumbing of existing toilets, provide a wealth of information doctors can use to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal issues such as inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) and irritable bowel syndrome (ibs).

“typically, gastroenterologists have to rely on patient self-reported information about their stool to help determine the cause of their gastrointestinal health issues, which can be very unreliable,” said deborah fisher , one of the study’s lead authors and an associate professor of medicine at duke university in durham, n.c. “patients often can’t remember what their stool looks like or how often they have a bowel movement, which is part of the standard monitoring process. the smart toilet technology will allow us to gather the long-term information needed to make a more accurate and timely diagnosis of chronic gastrointestinal problems.”

irritable bowel syndrome is a disorder of the large intestine related to how food travels through the digestive system and how the brain interprets the signals it receives from the area. symptoms include bloating, cramping, abdominal pain and diarrhea and constipation or both. canada has one of the highest rates of ibs in the world, according to the canadian digestive health foundation , at 18 per cent compared to 11 per cent globally. more than 70 per cent of patients report that their symptoms get in the way of everyday life, with almost half missing some work or school as a result. between 40 and 60 per cent of ibs patients also experience psychological symptoms, including anxiety and depression.

inflammatory bowel disease is an umbrella term used to encompass chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. conditions, including ulcerative colitis and crohn’s disease, are experienced by roughly one per cent of canadians.

“we are optimistic about patient willingness to use this technology because it’s something that can be installed in their toilet’s pipes and doesn’t require the patient to do anything other than flush,” said sonia grego, one of the study’s lead researchers and the founding director of the duke smart toilet lab . “an ibd flare-up could be diagnosed using the smart toilet and the patient’s response to treatment could be monitored with the technology.

separate research presented during digestive disease week revealed that ibs patients experienced an unexpected improvement in symptoms during covid-19 lockdowns.

of the 129 ibs patients involved in the study in argentina — a country with one of the longest lockdowns in the world — the number experiencing severe symptoms dropped from 65 to 39. the mean irritability bowel syndrome severity scale for the group fell significantly and symptoms of pain, distention, stool consistency, anxiety, somatization, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue symptoms all improved. “our results reinforce the concept that ibs, or functional gastrointestinal disorders, have a connection to psychosocial factors, as well as food and other factors,” stefanolo said. “the gut-brain axis has a lot of facets.”

dave yasvinski is a writer with   healthing.ca

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smart toilets snap pictures that help with diagnoses

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