A simple question from a frustrated nurse, why is it not possible for a toilet to detect stool, has led to a groundbreaking innovation in elderly care. The nurse, Helle Wictor, contacted the Innovation department at Helsingborg City where she worked, and what is now Optisense Care, has emerged from that work.
The startup focuses on developing a smart, radar-equipped toilet seat, under the name ZenSeat, that uses AI to monitor bowel movements, helping caregivers detect constipation early in dementia patients and prevent serious health complications.
“Is it possible to invent something that alerts the nursing staff if a patient hasn’t pooped?”
said Helle Wictor, the initiator of the idea
AI and Radar for Early Detection
Constipation in elderly individuals, particularly those with dementia, can lead to severe suffering, hospitalizations, and even life-threatening conditions like intestinal obstruction. Since many patients cannot communicate their symptoms, caregivers often struggle to identify issues in time.
Optisense Care’s solution is a wireless, AI-powered toilet seat that analyzes waste using radar technology. The system alerts caregivers when a patient hasn’t had a bowel movement for several days, enabling timely intervention.
Peter Rybäck, is the CEO of Optisense Care and a veteran of the Life Science sector. The company, founded earlier this year by Rybäck and a team of developers, is preparing for a “pre-pilot” phase in Helsingborg’s elderly care facilities, with interest already expressed from other larger cities such as Malmö and Gothenburg.
“For now, while we’re talking about orders in the tens up to maybe 200-300 units, we can handle production manually. But if we see larger orders coming in, we’ll invest in a molding tool to enable mass production of the toilet seat.”
said Peter Rybäck to Rapidus
The company raised a small round of €270.000 earlier this year, from one founder, Loop Capital, and business angels, according to Swedish Tech News.
