14:36Machine-translated from Azerbaijani by AIRead in Azerbaijani
Kohler Health Device Also Collects Your Name and Precise Location
AI-powered smart toilet devices can now automatically monitor indicators in a user's stool and urine. The global gut health market is expected to reach $106 billion (approximately 180.2 billion manats) by the end of 2029. Kohler Health and Throne offer camera-equipped devices that attach to a toilet. An algorithm analyzes the color, consistency and other characteristics of stool and urine. The result appears in an app a few minutes later.
The Kohler Health device is priced at $449 (approximately 760 manats), while an annual family membership costs $130 (approximately 220 manats). The Throne device costs $399 (approximately 680 manats), and its annual membership costs $70 (approximately 120 manats). The startup raised $10 million (approximately 17 million manats) in July. Each of the 2 devices begins recording when a light sensor detects that the user is seated. The companies say the camera points only into the bowl and cannot turn upward. The companies say these products work differently from at-home microbiome tests. Instead of determining whether someone is healthy or ill, the devices try to establish each person's normal digestive pattern. According to gastroenterologists, healthy people with normal bowel function may gain very little new information from the device. Long-term monitoring may reveal recurring changes associated with food, medication and dehydration. For people with inflammatory bowel disease, automatic records could replace the diary requested by a doctor. For its next-generation device, Throne plans to capture images using different wavelengths of light to detect traces of blood in stool that are invisible to the naked eye. The updated device could go on sale within 2 years, and its price has not been determined. Colorectal cancer has increased among young people over the past 10 years and has become the leading cause of cancer death among people under age 50. However, it is not yet known whether the new method is as reliable as laboratory tests. Kohler Health says its current device alerts the user when it detects blood in the toilet. Gastroenterologists say the devices are still too expensive for early cancer screening. Such screening should be noninvasive and inexpensive, but these products require an ongoing subscription fee in addition to the device itself. Requiring users to pay every year to access their own health data could make it difficult to leave the service. The 2 companies collect names, demographic data, and information about diet and medications in addition to images. Kohler Health also tracks precise location, while Throne does not. The 2 companies say they do not share health data for targeted advertising. However, their policies allow data to be shared with police, a new owner of the company, and partners providing technical support and customer service. Kohler Health says it does not intend to sell the data, while Throne says it will not do so without explicit permission and that sharing data for research will be voluntary. Buyers should weigh the devices' day-to-day medical benefits against the data they provide and the long-term subscription cost.
The Kohler Health device is priced at $449 (approximately 760 manats), while an annual family membership costs $130 (approximately 220 manats). The Throne device costs $399 (approximately 680 manats), and its annual membership costs $70 (approximately 120 manats). The startup raised $10 million (approximately 17 million manats) in July. Each of the 2 devices begins recording when a light sensor detects that the user is seated. The companies say the camera points only into the bowl and cannot turn upward. The companies say these products work differently from at-home microbiome tests. Instead of determining whether someone is healthy or ill, the devices try to establish each person's normal digestive pattern. According to gastroenterologists, healthy people with normal bowel function may gain very little new information from the device. Long-term monitoring may reveal recurring changes associated with food, medication and dehydration. For people with inflammatory bowel disease, automatic records could replace the diary requested by a doctor. For its next-generation device, Throne plans to capture images using different wavelengths of light to detect traces of blood in stool that are invisible to the naked eye. The updated device could go on sale within 2 years, and its price has not been determined. Colorectal cancer has increased among young people over the past 10 years and has become the leading cause of cancer death among people under age 50. However, it is not yet known whether the new method is as reliable as laboratory tests. Kohler Health says its current device alerts the user when it detects blood in the toilet. Gastroenterologists say the devices are still too expensive for early cancer screening. Such screening should be noninvasive and inexpensive, but these products require an ongoing subscription fee in addition to the device itself. Requiring users to pay every year to access their own health data could make it difficult to leave the service. The 2 companies collect names, demographic data, and information about diet and medications in addition to images. Kohler Health also tracks precise location, while Throne does not. The 2 companies say they do not share health data for targeted advertising. However, their policies allow data to be shared with police, a new owner of the company, and partners providing technical support and customer service. Kohler Health says it does not intend to sell the data, while Throne says it will not do so without explicit permission and that sharing data for research will be voluntary. Buyers should weigh the devices' day-to-day medical benefits against the data they provide and the long-term subscription cost.