AI can analyze your poop. Should it?

Getty Images; Rebecca Zisser/BIThrone Science, a startup cofounded by a WHOOP cofounder, just launched $10 million in Series A funding.It is part of the toilet tech boom, with brands like Vivoo and TOTO turning bathrooms into health trackers.AI-driven stool analysis can help gastroenterologists, but can't yet diagnose digestive disorders.In over a decade as a health journalist, I've interviewed people about some deeply personal health experiences, but this was a first.On a video call, Scott Hickle, CEO and cofounder of the startup Throne Science, held his phone up to the camera to show me a detailed diary of his bowel movements.He pointed to a stretch of blue ("that's healthy"), then an erratic jumble of colors — yellow (hard), orange (loose), blue again.These were the findings from the smart camera in his toilet in early January, when he returned from Christmas break to the stress and buzz of preparing Throne's launch."Our whole thing is, first of all, let's establish your baseline and then notice any significant deviations from that baseline," Hickle told me.Throne One by Throne Science is a clip-on smart camera that scans stool and urine using AI-trained sensorsThrone ScienceWe're in a toilet tech boom, moving beyond heated seats and bidets to health tracking. In the last 18 months, industry giant TOTO launched Stool Scan in Japan, which uses LED technology to analyze stool consistency; wellness-tech startup Vivoo launched its Smart Toilet, which analyzes urine and hydration; and Throne shipped to customers and raised $10 million in a Series A funding round last week.Brian Comiskey, senior director of innovation and trends at the Consumer Technology Association, said the category began taking off in 2023, driven by better sensors and AI, growing concern about digestive health, and the success of wearables. But this is the year it has come into its own.The technology appeals to gastroenterologists because patients are notoriously bad at remembering their bowel movements. Consumers, meanwhile, are increasingly fascinated with gut health amid rising rates of colorectal cancer in younger people and widespread digestive disorders like IBS.Still, while the technology is getting remarkably good at documenting what happens in the toilet, understanding why it happened — and what you should do about it — is another matter.Where toilet tech currently excelsIf you're interested in tracking your toilet trips, you have a growing number of options.ProductWhat it tracksPriceThrone OneStool consistency, hydration, urinary health, bathroom habits$399 + $5.99/month membershipVivoo Smart ToiletUrine analysis, hydrationFrom $99 + app subscription after 3 monthsWithings U-ScanUrine biomarkers (hydration, nutrition, kidney stone risk)From $380-450 starter kit + cartridge subscriptionKohler DekodaStool and urine analysis, blood screening, hydration$599 + subscription from $6.99/monthTOTO Stool ScanStool shape, consistency, color, volumeIncluded in premium Neorest models (only sold in Japan; roughly $3,280; pricing varies by market)Throne, a startup cofounded by WHOOP cofounder John Capodilupo, who has ulcerative colitis, sells a camera that clips onto the toilet bowl. It analyzes stool consistency and urine color using AI trained with input from gastroenterologists, then maps trends in an app. Users can also confer with an "AI gut health coach." (The device uses proximity sensors to your phone to know that it's you. When you're on vacation or at the office, you can manually enter your toilet data into the app.)TOTO's Neorest models in Japan have built-in sensors that measure stool shape, consistency, color, and volume and relay the findings to an app. The company aims to debut this model in the US in early 2027.Kohler's Dekoda is a clip-on optical sensor that screens stool for signs of blood and urine for signs of dehydration. Vivoo's Smart Toilet focuses primarily on urine and hydration. Withings' U-Scan uses a toilet-mounted device to analyze urine.Comiskey traces the category's evolution from more sophisticated bidets to early health-monitoring devices that relied on replaceable chemical cartridges. The latest technology increasingly uses optical sensors, computer vision, and AI instead, reducing the intervention required from users.For gastroenterologists, the ability to automatically create a diary is compelling.TOTO, a giant in the toilet industry, has debuted Stool Scan in Japan. Users can track their data in an app.TOTO"You have your patient's perception of what's going on, but it's nice to have some objective data to qualify that with," Kyle Staller, a gastroenterologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, said.Brennan Spiegel, a gastroenterologist and director of health services research at Cedars-Sinai, agreed. If a patient showed up with an electronic stool diary, "I would use it," he said, particularly when changing medication or assessing a response to treatment.Can an AI gut-health coach

Read More