Health2.0 Europe: S-There Smart toilet

S-There has a sensor which is placed into the toilet for measuring biomedical parameters in the urine and is connected to a display or your smartphone giving you recommendations to improve your health.

Right now S-There is able to measure hydration because drinking enough water is essential for physiological processes such as circulation, metabolism, temperature regulation, and waste removal.

Although excessive dehydration is associated with serious health problems, even mild dehydration can cause issues, including headaches, irritability, poorer physical performance, and reduced cognitive functioning. (Ver)

An MIT-Tied Startup Wants You to Pee on Its Tech 

It's not everyday you come across a startup that wants people to pee on its technology. But S-There, a venture supported by MIT, MIT linQ and the mVision Foundation, literally does. It's been developing a smart toilet device that will track different things going on in your body based on your urine. 

I chatted with two of the venture's team members, Amaia Garcia and Adrian Gomez, and they told me how the idea of throwing technology in the toilet came about - as well as where it's going. 

The S-There team members met at a hackathon in Spain. Over the course of 48 hours, they got to know each other as they worked nonstop on an idea they had conceived on the spot. 

Their initial focus was to make a device resembling a golf ball that people - namely, diabetics - could toss into their home toilets. It would connect to an app via Wi-Fi or bluetooth and give users feedback on their glucose levels based on their urine. Garcia told me, “It would be non-invasive, painless and affordable.” The S-There team. 

In the last six months, the startup’s scope has broadened ever so slightly. “Right now, we’re looking into making different sensors to measure different biometrics: one for glucose analysis and another to measure hydration,” Gomez said. 

According to the S-There team, most people struggle with staying hydrated. 

“Everyone says people need to drink eight glasses of water a day. That’s not true,” Adrian said. He explained that the recommendation is outdated and that the amount of water an individual should consume depends on a number of factors, including height, weight and level of activity. 

With a small, reusable sensor that would be inserted into your toilet bowl, S-There is looking to give you instant feedback on whether you need to drink more water and how much. 

 “When people receive a measurement in real time, it’s much more effective… You get more engagement,” Gomez said. (Más)

PHARMACOSERÍAS estuvo en la presentación en Barcelona (Health 2.0Europe) y da fe de ello...