The AI Toilet That Could Help Build Your SSDI Records: How Kohler’s Dekoda Is Turning Bathroom Data Into Health Evidence
It sounds futuristic — a toilet that can help you understand your health. But Kohler’s Dekoda™, an AI-powered health tracker built into a smart toilet, is already making waves. It’s designed to monitor digestive patterns in real time — and its insights may help people living with serious conditions better understand their health trends, discuss concerns earlier with their doctors, and maintain the kind of consistent records that can support Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) medical documentation.
For individuals managing Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), colorectal cancer, and other gastrointestinal or autoimmune disorders, symptoms often fluctuate dramatically. You may feel fine one week, then experience severe pain, fatigue, or bleeding the next. The challenge is consistency — not just in health, but in medical recordkeeping. Dekoda offers a new way to capture that story.
What Is the Kohler Dekoda Toilet?
According to Kohler Health, Dekoda is an AI-powered toilet designed to monitor bowel movement frequency, consistency, color, and volume. Using computer vision and machine learning, it analyzes stool characteristics passively and securely — no manual input or testing required. Data syncs to the Kohler Health app, providing insights into hydration, digestive regularity, and potential changes over time.
On its Deeper Insights page, Kohler notes that Dekoda’s models can detect changes that may indicate gastrointestinal conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease or colorectal cancer. It’s a private, automated way to observe patterns your body already communicates daily.
Why This Technology May Be Useful for People Filing SSDI Claims
According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), disability determinations rely on “medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques” and often consider longitudinal medical evidence — meaning health data gathered over time rather than isolated medical visits.
For individuals with digestive or autoimmune disorders, it can be difficult to capture the true variability of symptoms during infrequent clinic appointments. A tool like Dekoda can help users document consistent, objective information — such as bowel frequency, color, or hydration patterns — which may then be shared with a licensed medical provider as part of ongoing treatment and recordkeeping.
If that data becomes part of the provider’s records, it may support the medical history used in an SSDI claim. However, only licensed healthcare providers and SSA adjudicators can determine whether such information meets SSA evidence requirements.
SSA Blue Book Listings Potentially Related to Digestive and Immune Disorders
The SSA’s Blue Book describes how certain disorders are evaluated for disability purposes. Based on current SSA listings, conditions that involve digestive or immune impairment are described under:
Listing 5.00 – Digestive System Disorders
This includes Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, chronic liver disease, gastrointestinal bleeding, and short bowel syndrome. The SSA considers symptoms like persistent diarrhea, dehydration, malnutrition, or weight loss when determining medical severity.Listing 14.09 – Immune Disorders
Some autoimmune conditions, such as systemic lupus erythematosus or ankylosing spondylitis, can cause inflammation affecting multiple organs, including the digestive system.Listing 13.18 – Cancer of the Large Intestine (Colorectal Cancer)
Colorectal cancers may present with bloody stool, bowel obstruction, or irregularity. Early detection and consistent monitoring can be medically important.Listing 11.00 – Neurological Disorders
Certain neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease, can cause neurogenic bowel dysfunction, leading to chronic constipation or incontinence.
Kohler’s Dekoda does not diagnose or treat these conditions. However, by tracking objective bowel data, users may identify patterns worth discussing with a physician who can determine clinical significance.
Compassionate Allowances and Digestive Disorders
The SSA’s Compassionate Allowances (CAL) initiative expedites claims for specific conditions considered clearly disabling.
Digestive-related CAL conditions listed by SSA include:
Chronic Idiopathic Intestinal Pseudo Obstruction
Esophageal Cancer
Gallbladder Cancer
Hepatoblastoma
Hepatopulmonary Syndrome
Dekoda data might help users notice symptom changes earlier, prompting medical evaluation — which, in turn, could lead to more timely documentation and treatment.
A “Fitbit” for Digestive Health
Think of Dekoda as a “Fitbit for your gut.” Instead of counting steps, it quietly counts what your body produces — the unfiltered record of how your digestive system is functioning. Over time, that data builds a story that can help you and your healthcare provider recognize trends, discuss treatment effectiveness, or identify flare patterns.
For many people, this kind of recordkeeping creates a clearer health picture — which may be relevant when medical professionals prepare reports for SSA disability evaluations.
RFC and Functional Impact
In disability evaluations, the SSA often considers Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) — how a medical condition limits daily activities or work functions. Digestive or autoimmune conditions can impact a person’s ability to maintain work attendance or access restrooms. While Dekoda cannot measure RFC directly, its tracking may help people describe their daily symptoms more accurately to healthcare providers, who can then document those effects in clinical notes.
Proactive Health and Early Detection
Dekoda also serves a preventive purpose. Its AI may flag changes in stool color, frequency, or consistency that could warrant follow-up. Early recognition of changes can prompt users to contact their healthcare provider for evaluation, improving both outcomes and ongoing medical record accuracy — two key factors in long-term care.
Latest Research: AI and Digestive Health Monitoring
Recent research demonstrates that AI-powered analysis of stool imagery and digestive data can detect patterns associated with inflammatory bowel disease and other gastrointestinal disorders with high accuracy. Studies have found that AI models can assess stool consistency, color, and hydration to predict flare-ups before symptoms peak.
Trials of smart toilet systems similar to Dekoda reported accuracy rates above 90% for identifying abnormal stool patterns. Researchers have concluded that integrating AI-based monitoring may help improve early diagnosis, chronic disease management, and telehealth communication — all of which can contribute to more detailed, objective medical records over time.
Occupational Impact and Daily Living
Digestive and immune conditions often affect energy, focus, and scheduling. People in occupations without flexible restroom access may experience heightened stress or difficulty maintaining attendance. Tracking these patterns with a tool like Dekoda can help users share specific, time-based examples with healthcare providers, who can note the real-world impact in their medical assessments.
Summary
Kohler’s Dekoda represents a fascinating evolution in health technology — transforming ordinary household routines into meaningful health data. For individuals managing chronic digestive or immune conditions, it offers an opportunity to track health more consistently, engage in early detection, and support well-documented medical histories — all under professional medical guidance.
Dekoda isn’t about diagnosing or proving disability; it’s about making invisible symptoms visible, giving patients and providers better tools to understand and communicate what’s really happening.
FAQs
Q: Can AI health data (like Dekoda logs) be part of SSA documentation?
A: Yes. The SSA considers information from nonmedical sources (including you)—such as symptom journals and health-tracking logs—when evaluating the nature and severity of your symptoms. If your licensed healthcare provider reviews or relies on this information and documents their findings in your medical record, that interpretation may then become objective medical evidence from an acceptable medical source. The Dekoda data itself supports your medical history but does not replace diagnostic testing or clinical evaluation.
Q: Does Kohler’s Dekoda replace lab testing or doctor visits?
A: No. Dekoda is a consumer wellness tool, not a medical device or diagnostic substitute. However, it can provide early warning signs by identifying trends—such as changes in bowel frequency, color, or consistency—that might suggest it’s time to contact your healthcare provider. Early attention to these changes can help your doctor evaluate symptoms sooner, document findings more thoroughly, and ensure your medical record accurately reflects your condition over time.
Q: Which conditions might benefit most from Dekoda tracking?
A: Dekoda may be especially helpful for people managing chronic digestive or immune disorders, including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, colorectal cancer, IBS, celiac disease, or short bowel syndrome. Continuous tracking helps visualize day-to-day symptom changes that can be difficult to recall or describe in medical visits.
Q: Is Dekoda a medical device?
A: As of 2025, Dekoda is not classified as an FDA-approved medical device. It is a health and wellness monitoring system designed to provide insights into digestive patterns. Users can share their Dekoda data with healthcare professionals for review and discussion as part of ongoing treatment and care planning.
References
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Social Security Administration. (n.d.). 11.00—Neurological disorders (Adult). https://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/11.00-Neurological-Adult.htm
Social Security Administration. (n.d.). 13.00—Cancer (Neoplastic diseases, malignant) (Adult). https://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/13.00-NeoplasticDiseases-Malignant-Adult.htm
Social Security Administration. (n.d.). 14.00—Immune system disorders (Adult). https://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/14.00-Immune-Adult.htm
Social Security Administration. (n.d.). 5.00—Digestive system (Adult). https://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/5.00-Digestive-Adult.htm
Social Security Administration. (2016, March 28). SSR 16-3p: Titles II and XVI: Evaluation of symptoms in disability claims. https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/rulings/di/01/SSR2016-03-di-01.html
Social Security Administration. (n.d.). 20 C.F.R. § 404.1502 - Definitions for this subpart. https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/cfr20/404/404-1502.htm
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