German firm unveils toilet seat that records heart rhythm in half a minute

Hamberger Medical’s new HARO EKG-seat looks like an ordinary bathroom fixture but incorporates sensors that generate a six-lead electrocardiogram during a 30-second sit. The signal is transmitted via Bluetooth to a companion app, which evaluates the trace for irregular rhythms such as atrial fibrillation, a condition linked to a five-fold increase in stroke risk. In the Hamberger Heart Study, the seat’s output showed a high concordance with conventional 12-lead ECGs, but the study details—including sample size and false-positive rates—have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Priced at roughly $2,870 and sold only through the company’s German online store, the product is not presently available elsewhere, and the firm did not respond to inquiries about U.S. distribution. The app processes data locally, keeping recordings off the company’s servers, though users must manage their own device backup settings to protect privacy. Experts caution that the seat’s alerts should prompt medical consultation rather than replace professional diagnosis.