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Flushing Out the Truth in Health Data

From smart toilets to wearable sensors, consumer technologies are entering the diagnostic arena. Is laboratory medicine ready to put their claims to the test?

  • By

  • Christopher Zahner

  • Aakash Bhatia

  • November 6, 2026

  • 10 min

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  • 1

    The authors plan to compare a smart toilet’s hydration measurements, based on urine color and concentration, with conventional laboratory methods, including osmolality.

  • 2

    The device is marketed for general wellness and tracks stool patterns, hydration, urinary flow, and bathroom habits.

  • 3

    The article notes that frequent measurements can feel persuasive, but repetition does not establish accuracy.

  • 4

    Laboratory results can be wrong because of unsuitable conditions, poor methods, quality-control failures, reagent changes, matrix effects, software changes, or interferences.

  • 5

    As consumer devices produce measurements resembling established medical tests, clinicians and health systems will need to assess how much trust those measurements deserve.

Original Source(s)

Flushing Out the Truth in Health Data

  • by Christopher Zahner, Aakash Bhatia

  • November 6, 2026

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