Why Is Everyone Studying Their Sh**?

Is your toilet the next wearable?

There’s a new kind of wearable on the market, only you don’t wear it… your toilet does.

Reasons why home AI-powered poop analysis is trending

From camera-fitted toilet bowls to fingerprint-linked sensors and AI-powered flush pipes, the humble toilet receives an upgrade. But is it set to become the next frontier of health tracking?

This type of kit also goes under the name of “passive monitors”. They are smart systems that analyse your stool for early signs of inflammation, dehydration, irregular bowel habits and even occult blood.

“A prototype smart toilet developed at Harvard features a device that continuously monitors urine and stool using AI, test strips and pressure sensors, with all data sent securely to a cloud-based health portal.” – Harvard Researchers

Yes, smart toilet era is officially upon us. Fully retrofittable devices equipped with cameras and spectroscopy tools can now classify stool using the Bristol Stool Scale, a seven-point chart widely used in clinical settings to assess consistency and appearance.

You may be thinking, what about multi-user households? Conveniently, some systems, including one developed by Harvard researchers, come with fingerprint scanners to match the right data to the right person.

Commercially available devices like Kohler’s Dekoda, launched in 2025, sit discreetly on the side of your toilet. This product collects data through trained stool-recognition software, and sends bite-sized health updates to an app. 

So what’s the point in all this? Simply put, it’s about spotting potential warning signs for your health early on.

What smart toilets are built to do

Smart toilets, to their critics, might sound a bit gimmicky, but the features they offer are mainly practical and focused. These are the functions that make them useful for tracking digestive health.

• Stool shape and consistency: Most systems use built-in cameras and visual AI to analyse the shape and texture of your stool. This helps spot patterns, such as persistent constipation or unusually soft stools.

• Frequency and trend tracking: By logging how often you go, the system creates a baseline profile. Once your normal rhythm is established, it becomes easier to identify any irregularities. These might include extended gaps between movements or sudden changes that could be linked to diet or illness.

• Hydration analysis: Some smart toilet models include urine sensors to assess hydration. By combining urine concentration data with stool consistency, the device can give a basic indication of whether you’re drinking enough water or need to adjust your fluid intake.

• Blood detection: This kind of passive scanning may help users identify early signs of inflammation or more serious issues that need clinical follow-up by a doctor.

So, if you’re going too often, or not enough, or if you notice changes regularly but have no other way of recording it, this tech could appeal to the bio-tracker enthusiasts to make a more complete analysis.

The big limitation, and why it matters

But, there might be a catch. While they can observe helpful parameters like stool consistency and colour etc, smart toilets might not be so great at telling you what’s in it.

More specifically, they may be unable to report on what bacteria are living in your gut. That’s where microbiome testing comes in.

Stool microbiota testing requires a more controlled method of sample handling. In such cases, the stool will need to be directly placed inside the sample collection tool, so that the sample itself does not risk contamination from the toilet bowl, water or surrounding areas. Even air exposure can be a problem.

Therefore, while automated sample collection inside the toilet may sound like a more pleasant experience to collecting it manually, in practice, it’s simply too unstable to produce reliable results. If you’re considering a deeper look at your gut health, specialist-led stool testing remains the most comprehensive option.

What Dr Kumaran says about stool testing

Dr Nirusha Kumaran, a trained GP with advanced expertise in functional and longevity medicine, including gut health and clinical stool analysis, says the difference comes down to what you’re actually testing for.

“Stool testing involves collecting a small sample of stool, which is usually analysed in a laboratory for a wide range of indicators,” she explains. “That includes bacterial composition, gut inflammation markers, digestive enzyme function and parasites”.

In other words, this is the kind of insight smart toilet tech remains limited in accessing.

For Dr Nirusha, stool analysis is essential to treating her patients. She shares the case of a 35-year-old man with ulcerative colitis, who came to her after three long months of severe bloody diarrhoea, abdominal discomfort and fatigue. “He was determined to understand his symptoms. So we ran a full stool panel.”

The results revealed some big problems:

• Severe dysbiosis

• High inflammation markers

• Presence of parasitic organisms

The high level of actionable insights from the panel informed an effective personalised plan. “We used targeted antimicrobials, gut-healing nutrients, anti-inflammatory support and an elimination diet. Within several months, the patient achieved remission of ulcerative colitis symptoms, demonstrating the impact of personalised, data-driven gut therapy informed by detailed stool testing”.

So, to sum up, the latest wearable tech for your toilet may help spot patterns. But further gut testing and working with a professional can reveal the root causes behind your symptoms and offer a clear path to address them. Even without symptoms, it can still give you the best possible chance of improving your gut and overall health.

Smart toilet tech is observational: Gut testing is diagnostic

If you’re already tracking your REM cycles and wearing a continuous glucose monitor, adding a smart toilet might just feel like the logical next step. It collects low-effort, consistent data and feeds it back in real time.

A number of things could happen, such as starting to recognise the impact of your food, sleep or stress on your digestion. And you might be able to spot warning signs earlier.

But if you’re experiencing symptoms like bloating, debilitating fatigue, IBS-type symptoms or skin flare-ups with no improvements, the answers for you could lie elsewhere.

As Dr Nirusha says, “Understanding the specific imbalances within the gut allows for targeted interventions, rather than relying on general recommendations.”

Stool tech vs lab testing: What each one actually tells you

If you’re deciding on the best approach to getting your gut health insights, here’s a clear breakdown of what each method offers (and where they differ).

AI-based stool classification: Most smart toilet systems use optical sensors and AI to visually assess stool against the Bristol Stool Scale. It helps track shape and consistency. This, for example, could highlight ongoing constipation or softer, loose stools. Some promising evidence for the smart toilet includes a proof-of-concept study, whereby the system was able to classify stool consistency as loose, normal or constipated with 85% accuracy.

Integrated biochemical tests: Some systems are designed to collect a small, automated sample from the toilet wastewater and perform an integrated faecal occult blood test (FOBT) or faecal immunochemical test (FIT), which performed at a high level of accuracy compared to laboratory testing in studies. Faecal occult blood can be an early sign of conditions like colorectal cancer or gastrointestinal bleeding from other causes. In early trials, these systems have also shown over 76% accuracy in detecting visible blood in stool.

Continual monitoring: One of the biggest benefits of smart toilets is that the relevant information is captured passively, which makes it easier to build up consistent personal trend data over time.

Bacterial composition and diversity: Lab testing identifies which bacterial species are present in your gut and in what balance. Dr Nirusha made it clear that this is essential for detecting dysbiosis, an imbalance that can drive bloating, IBS symptoms, as well as inflammation.

Markers of gut inflammation: Clinical panels, like some toilet technology also looks for occult blood. Gut testing in a laboratory will involve specific markers like calprotectin and lactoferrin, which indicate whether the gut lining is inflamed. This can help assess conditions like ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease. Laboratory testing is needed to confirm results provided by smart toilets as they are not a replacement for colorectal cancer screening methods like lab-based stool DNA tests. These results still need professional interpretation.

Digestive enzyme function: Stool samples are analysed for digestive enzymes to see how well your body is breaking down and absorbing nutrients. Low enzyme activity can explain symptoms like fatigue, loose stools or nutrient deficiencies. This type of analysis is currently not provided by smart toilets.

Detection of parasites and other pathogens: As previously mentioned, unlike toilet tech, lab-based analysis can spot pathogenic organisms, including parasites, bacterial overgrowth and other signs of low-grade infections that might be contributing to gut symptoms.

Personalised treatment insight: By identifying specific microbial and functional imbalances, lab testing helps practitioners like Dr Nirusha design tailored protocols. These might include antimicrobial herbs, targeted supplements, or dietary changes that respond to what’s really happening in your gut.

Smart toilets: The downsides

Questions have been raised about privacy and data security, as these systems collect highly sensitive personal information, including biometric identifiers like fingerprints and even anal prints. Much of this data is stored in cloud-based systems, raising valid fears around hacking.

The toilet environment is inherently non-sterile, which increases the risk of contamination and could lead to false positives or false negatives in test results.

Although smart toilets promise early detection, their benefits over traditional periodic screening have not yet been confirmed in large-scale clinical studies, and integration with healthcare systems remains minimal.

There is also a risk of false reassurance, where users may rely too heavily on the technology and delay seeking medical advice, even when symptoms are actually present. As with any health tool, context and professional guidance remain essential for this reason.

Gut testing at home

For those wanting deeper insight into their gut microbiome, the Optimal Health Gut Microbiome Test Kit offers an AI-powered stool analysis that reveals bacterial diversity and imbalances with personalised recommendations. 

It’s a clinically validated at-home test that gives you a detailed snapshot of your gut environment so you can seek further guidance with results you can trust.

What you should know

In defence of the smart toilet, this technology is clever, it’s also convenient.  

Perhaps it goes one step further in making the topic of stool analysis less taboo, and these important, potentially life saving insights more available and instantaneous.

But, the technology available to the public still arguably remains limited compared to laboratory or clinical testing environments. And it’s not going to fix your gut. At present, it simply provides analysis without much direction.

That’s where microbiome testing, dietary interventions and practitioner support come into play. And, together, this makes stool analysis one of the most underrated health tools out there.

The tech will inevitably keep advancing. But for now, experts argue, it doesn’t encompass everything you need to know regarding your gut health.

Introducing Gutsi

Gutsi offers a comprehensive system designed to support digestion, microbial balance and nutrient absorption through a structured, phased protocol. 

The 60-day Gut Reset Kit combines probiotics, prebiotics and gut-supporting nutrients in a clear and easy-to-follow format. The reset begins with SporeBiotic™, a spore-based probiotic formulated to survive the stomach’s acidic environment and become active in the large intestine. These resilient strains help to reseed the gut with beneficial microbes and support microbial diversity to promote digestive and immune function.

In the second phase, Gut Food™ is introduced. This precision prebiotic contains a blend of three functional fibres to nourish keystone bacteria and help stimulate the production of postbiotics such as short-chain fatty acids.

The protocol is completed with Good Guts™, which combines amino acids and polyphenols to help strengthen the gut lining, support nutrient absorption and reduce inflammation.

To sum it up, Gutsi’s approach is rooted in layering, so that probiotics reseed the gut and prebiotics feed the right species. Supportive nutrients help reinforce the gut wall and each step builds on the last for a complete reset.

Explore the Gutsi range to find out more.

FAQs

Not yet. While smart toilets can track trends like stool consistency or hydration, they cannot analyse your microbiome or detect deeper gut imbalances that require lab testing.

Some systems show high accuracy in early trials, especially for detecting stool patterns or visible blood. But the toilet environment is not sterile, so contamination and false results are still a risk.

It may appeal to health trackers who want to monitor their digestion over time. But for those with symptoms or ongoing gut issues, professional stool testing remains the more complete option.

For a comprehensive approach, the Optimal Health Gut Microbiome Test Kit offers at-home, AI-powered stool analysis with personalised insights. For ongoing support, Gutsi’s product line, including Gutsi’s Gut Reset Kit provides a structured protocol of probiotics, prebiotics and gut-healing nutrients designed to rebalance digestion and microbial diversity.

How To Beat Bloating: Expert-Approved Dos & Don’ts

Read more

The Long-Term Benefits Of Hydration

Read more

Fasting Insulin, Why Do We Need To Talk About It?

Read more

The Skin And Gut Microbiome: The Key To Radiant, Healthy Skin

Read more