'Smart toilet' prototype can help compile health information

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Monday, November 18, 2019
'Smart toilet' prototype can help compile health information
'Smart toilet' prototype can help compile health information. Sarah Bloomquist reports during Action News at 4 p.m. on November 18, 2019.

We have smartphones and smartwatches, but what about smart toilets?

Yes, you heard right. It's all in the name of science.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin are working on a prototype that would collect and process urine samples.

Scientists are calling this a non-invasive way to collect and compile your health information, right from your own home.

"Our smart toilet will have a collection container in the front, and then we can have pipes coming out the bottom, which will pump the urine away for analysis in our mass spectrometers. Some people think we're crazy, but I think we're onto something," says Ben Anderson.

Scientists are programming the prototype to hook up with your smart watch, so you can see your results.

Data would show how much caffeine or alcohol is in your system, or how your body metabolizes certain medications.