TECH

American university creates anus scanner to detect diseases

This many people really did not expect, but there are scientists working hard on a curious invention, to say the least. An anus scanner is being designed to be installed in smart toilets and “anal scan” of those who use them. The goal? It is collecting daily physiological data, such as feces and urine, to prevent or detect certain diseases, including some types of cancer, such as colorectal cancer.

Behind this project is a team of scientists from the Stanford School of Medicine, in the United States, which has already completed the pilot study of 21 participants. They say the device could be particularly useful for individuals who are genetically predisposed to certain conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, prostate cancer or kidney failure.

But how does it work?...The toilet is equipped with devices, which have a set of different technologies, including a protected camera. These technologies collect information from any material deposited there through video. Then, both urine and stool samples are processed by a set of algorithms that can distinguish between normal “urodynamics” (flow rate, flow time and total volume, among other parameters) and stool consistencies. In addition, the device implants urine test rods from a small sample. This type of test can help detect problems that need treatment, including infections or kidney problems. The extracted data is automatically sent to a secure cloud-based system for protection. 

Anal reading...The researchers' concern was to make sure that the smart toilet could really differentiate users and provide individualized health feedbacks. To do this, they created a discharge lever that reads fingerprints.

The team realized, however, that fingerprints are not completely foolproof. What if one person uses the toilet but another flushes it? That's where anus reading comes in. They added a small scanner that captures images of that part of the body. "We know it sounds strange, but we found that your anal impression is unique," said one of the study's authors, researcher Sanjiv "Sam" Gambhir.

Scans are used purely as a recognition system to match users with their specific data. According to the researcher, no one sees the images. There is still no forecast when the smart bathroom can be used in people's daily lives, as new studies will be carried out with a larger number of participants and new features will be tested. One of the researchers' goals is to develop molecular analyzes for stool samples. “This is a little more complicated, but we're working on it,” Gambhir said. “The smart bathroom is the perfect way to leverage a data source that is often overlooked – and the user doesn't have to do anything different.” Although excited by the results so far, the researchers emphasize that the bathroom is in no way a substitute for consulting a doctor.

Stanford School of Medicine-EUA