Technology-Assisted Toilets: An Assistive Technology for Improving Hygiene and Independence in the Bathroom

Abstract

Purpose: Toileting is an activity of daily living that is often difficult to perform independently for rehabilitation patients, which can be detrimental to the patient’s self-esteem and hygiene. Technology-Assisted Toilets (TATs) are commercially-available toilet seats which clean the user with a stream of water, and have a fan for drying. TATs are operated by a wall-mounted remote control. This thesis investigated whether TATs could improve stroke and geriatric rehabilitation patients’ ability to clean themselves independently after a bowel movement, and improve psychosocial outcomes when toileting. Methods: Stroke rehabilitation participants answered the Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scales (PIADS) to assess the psychosocial impact of their regular toileting, then used the TAT for a bowel movement on three occasions. In geriatric rehabilitation, participants completed two bowel movement trials; one using regular toileting and one using the TAT. In both studies, participants answered the PIADS and were visually assessed for cleanliness after each trial. Results: Stroke rehabilitation patients had significantly higher PIADS when using the TAT. TATs cleaned participants completely in 73% of BM trials. In geriatric rehabilitation, participants gave TATs higher PIADS scores than regular toileting, but the difference was not statistically significant. Cleanliness level was equal between TAT and regular toileting. Conclusions: These pilot studies show that TATs have the potential to be useful assistive devices for stroke and geriatric rehabilitation patients who have difficulty cleaning themselves independently in the bathroom. PIADS scores in both studies suggest that participants would be unlikely to abandon using TATs.