June 23, 2026
Surveys show that 60% of Americans own at least one wearable tracking device. Watches count steps and calories. Rings track sleep. Other wearables monitor heart rate, blood glucose, and recovery. Apps log workouts, blood biomarkers, and macronutrients. At the same time, interest in gut health is at an all-time high. People spend billions of dollars each year on probiotics, supplements, and digestive wellness products.
Yet most people have little objective information about their own digestive patterns. Data is available on almost every aspect of life, but not in the bathroom. Kohler Health’s Dekoda is designed to change that. The device attaches discreetly to the toilet and passively captures information on bathroom habits, tracking patterns in hydration and digestive health.
The importance of digestive health
Research over the last two decades shows that the digestive system has wide-ranging effects throughout the body. The gut microbiome contains trillions of microorganisms that play roles in digestion, nutrient absorption, immune function, and metabolic health. Scientists have identified communication pathways between the gut and the brain, known as the gut-brain axis. A large portion of the body’s immune system resides in the gut, helping regulate immune responses. The gut also handles nutrient absorption and blood sugar regulation.
Healthcare providers often ask detailed questions about bowel habits during routine visits. These patterns provide clues about what is happening in the body. The problem is that most people lack objective information to answer those questions accurately. They rely on memory and subjective observations, which are often inconsistent.
Obvious symptoms like bloating or constipation do not always tell the full story. By the time discomfort becomes noticeable, changes may have been developing beneath the surface. Healthcare professionals look beyond isolated symptoms and focus on patterns over time. Most people do not pay close enough attention to notice when those shifts happen.
Finding your baseline
What is normal for one person may be different for another. Understanding your own patterns is more useful than comparing yourself to someone else. Healthcare professionals focus on trends rather than single events. A single day rarely provides much insight. Weeks or months of information can reveal meaningful patterns and changes.
Establishing a personal baseline makes it easier to recognize when something shifts. This can help determine whether lifestyle factors, stress, hydration, or diet may be influencing digestive health. Kohler Health tracks key metrics to help users stay informed.
Hydration influences energy levels and digestion. Shifts in hydration status can affect how a person feels and impact bowel habits. The device learns what is normal for each user and flags subtle changes. Gut health markers like consistency, color, and volume are tracked using algorithms trained on the Bristol Stool Chart, the clinical standard for classification. The device also flags the presence of blood, an important signal that should not be ignored.
The next step in wellness tracking
Wearable devices took health tracking from clinical settings into everyday life. Information that once required specialized equipment is now captured by a device on the wrist. A similar shift is happening for digestive health. The Dekoda device attaches to the toilet and works passively in the background, capturing biometric signals related to hydration, gut health, and the presence of blood.
Users receive objective information through the Kohler Health App, where they can monitor trends and establish personal baselines. No extra work is required. All data is securely delivered to the app, allowing users to understand their body’s patterns while maintaining privacy and control. Over time, the device builds a complete picture of bathroom habits, turning a routine into usable information.
This can surface patterns in how stress, diet, travel, sleep, or activity affect regularity. It can also flag shifts that might otherwise be missed. The device provides objective data that users can reference when speaking with healthcare providers.
