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In the eyes of Professor Gambier of Stanford University, the toilet is a treasure trove of data that has long been forgotten. Now, he and his team will use new technologies to exploit this data treasure house.
New rival for the bathroom
When it comes to “high-tech toilets,” people often think of disposable toilets, and automatic lid-opening and heating functions for toilets also come to mind. Now, a research team led by a Stanford University professor has launched a “smart bathroom” that collects data through various complex sensors and provides health warnings to break people’s imaginations of a “high-tech bathroom.” “
For patients who want to stay on top of their own health or who have prostate cancer, kidney failure and other illnesses, the smart toilet is a surprising invention.
▲ Bidets are most common in western toilets, mainly for cleaning the buttocks after using the bathroom. (Source: pixabay)
Old concept combined with new technology
Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, professor and head of the Radiology Department at Stanford University, who heads the research, said the concept of a smart toilet dates back to about 15 years.
He said: “When I mentioned the idea (smart bathroom), people always laughed because it was an interesting and strange idea.”
Speaking of the smart toilet released by the team, Professor Gambier described: “It’s like buying a bidet in an existing toilet.”
Various sensors
In fact, this smart toilet looks like a normal toilet, but when you look closely, you will find that 6 sensors with different functions are installed to collect data from the user toilet to judge user health.
For example, the research team installed a urinalysis strip in the toilet to determine the amount of white blood cells and protein content in the urine, which is one of the indicators of whether the body is infected, bladder cancer, or renal insufficiency.
Another urine sensor analyzes the “speed, time, and total amount” of urination through algorithms.
Fecal sensor
The small chamber in the toilet plays the role of stool analysis. After the image is taken and analyzed by the image learning system, it will be classified according to the Bristol stool scale to determine if the user has constipation or diarrhea.
Although Tim Spector, a gut microbiologist at King’s College London, was not involved in the study, he said: “We currently know that stool samples may be the best representation of health.”
Other sensors include pressure, motion sensors, fingerprint scanners for flush handles, etc.
▲ To identify the user’s identity, the research team installed a fingerprint scanner on the shooter. In addition, the installation of an anal analyzer in the toilet is also used for body identification. (Source: paper)
Who is using the bathroom now?
Since the goal is to collect user health data, the research team will inevitably encounter the problem of body identification.
Therefore, to prevent other people from pressing the handle instead of the actual user, resulting in incorrect data classification, the research team also installed an anal scanner on the toilet as another identification method in addition to identifying fingerprints.
Professor Gambier said: “We know it looks strange, but the shape of the human anus is unique.”
Check health status in the cloud
Finally, all the data collected, the smart toilet will be automatically uploaded to a secure system storage in the cloud. In the future, Professor Gambier hopes that this system will be integrated with the health system so that people with authority can see the data quickly and easily.
How to protect the collected data?
In view of the fact that the smart toilet collects data that is very private to users and plans to upload the data to the cloud system, it will inevitably make people worry about privacy protection and data security.
In this regard, Professor Gambier said: “We have taken strict measures to ensure that data is deleted (processed) before uploading it to the cloud or transmitting it to medical personnel, and all data will also be subject to the Law of Convenience and Liability of health insurance (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). “
▲ Professor Gambier noted that the ultimate goal of smart toilets is not to replace doctors, but to warn early when there may be problems with the user’s health. (Source: Stanford University)
Smart toilets are not medical, they can only provide warnings
Professor Gambier said the purpose of the smart toilet is not to replace doctors, but to warn users as soon as possible.
Currently, the research team invited 21 users to use it and surveyed 300 users who are willing to use the smart toilet. The results show that more than half of people are willing to use the smart toilet. However, most people also voiced concerns about privacy protection and data security.
Smart “custom” toilet
Currently, the research team continues to improve the smart toilet and is moving to add more testers, add fecal molecular analysis features, and upgrade existing equipment.
Going forward, the research team hopes that customers will be able to choose which sensors to install according to their own needs. For example, a patient with diabetes may want the bathroom to monitor urine glucose values.
In the eyes of the gut microbiologist Speighter, he believes the new smart toilet is one of the indicators of future new inventions and also predicts that regular testing will be common in the near future.
(This article is reproduced with the permission of the Earth Atlas team; first image source: Unsplash)
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