Smart toilets for monitoring COVID-19 surges: passive diagnostics and public health

T. Jessie Ge; Carmel T. Chan; Brian J. Lee; Joseph C. Liao; Seung-min Park

doi:10.1038/s41746-022-00582-0

npj Digital Medicine (Mar 2022)

Smart toilets for monitoring COVID-19 surges: passive diagnostics and public health

T. Jessie Ge,
Carmel T. Chan,
Brian J. Lee,
Joseph C. Liao,
Seung-min Park

Affiliations

T. Jessie Ge: Department of Urology, Stanford University School of Medicine
Carmel T. Chan: Department of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine
Brian J. Lee: Department of Radiology, Stanford University School of Medicine
Joseph C. Liao: Department of Urology, Stanford University School of Medicine
Seung-min Park: Department of Urology, Stanford University School of Medicine

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-022-00582-0
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 5, no. 1
pp. 1 – 4

Abstract

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Continued COVID-19 surges have highlighted the need for widespread testing in addition to vaccination for disease containment. SARS-COV-2 RNA can be found in faecal matter, making human stool another potential source for COVID-19 diagnostics. In this commentary, we highlight potential strategies to use a smart toilet platform to passively monitor COVID-19 surges, enabling earlier detection of infected individuals and promoting public health.

Published in npj Digital Medicine

ISSN: 2398-6352 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Medicine: Medicine (General): Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics
Website: https://www.nature.com/npjdigitalmed/

About the journal