Smart toilets may sound like novelty tech, but companies are betting they can turn urine and stool into valuable, non-invasive health signals. A growing number of digital health firms are developing sensor-enabled toilets or attachments that analyze what lands in the bowl, aiming to detect early signs of gastrointestinal, kidney, and metabolic disease.
Products range from optical stool analysis to urine-based biomarker tracking, with potential applications in early cancer detection, chronic disease monitoring, and senior care. Gastroenterologist Anish Sheth of Penn Medicine Princeton Health has noted that continuous monitoring could allow earlier intervention before symptoms worsen.
While the technology holds promise—especially for high-risk populations—privacy concerns remain a key hurdle. Companies must balance clinical insight with safeguards for some of the most intimate health data people generate.