We pee an average of seven times a day and probably pay little attention to it, other than the color or the special smell that eating asparagus imparts. However, the urine is full of information that health technology company Withings aims to deliver to your phone with its new -U-Scan home urinalysis device.
Featured here at CES 2023, the puck-like sensor attaches to your toilet and uses a cartridge full of tiny test pads to collect and test your urine. Withings says it can automatically detect when someone pees on it thanks to a heat sensor, and even identify individual stream signatures using a low-power radar sensor. Put more simply, U-Scan detects whether you or, say, your wife pees on the puck.
Of course you still have to pee on it for it to know, so aim.
Incidentally, it’s not the outside of the fiberglass-reinforced polymer-covered U-Scan that reads your urine sample. Instead, there is a specially designed collection inlet that draws in just the right amount of urine for analysis.
Withings is currently seeking FDA approval in the US, and U-Scan is looking for many of the same urine markers as your doctor. However, Withing states in the product notification that the device is not intended to replace the advice, diagnosis or treatment of a healthcare professional.
According to Withings, U-Scan Nutri Balance can read the pH (acidity) level of your urine. Ketones (carbohydrate levels), vitamin C levels and water balance (hydration). The Withings app tracks these parameters and tells you if they are, for example, “stable” or in the “optimal” range.
In addition to being able to test your nutritional balance, U-Scan can also be used to track a woman’s cycle.
Withings claims that its U-Scan Cycle Sync is the first automatic hormone solution. With the accompanying app, it can perform daily hormone and nutritional biomarker analysis. The information gleaned from U-Scan’s urinalysis can help predict the menstrual cycle and determine the ovulation window for those trying to conceive, according to Withings.
All this information is delivered to your iPhone or Android device via Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/). It’s also Bluetooth-enabled.
U-Scan is rechargeable via a USB-C port, but don’t worry about fetching it out of your toilet every day to charge. Withings claims the U-Scan has a three-month battery life. And if you need to charge it or swap out the test pod puck, U-Scan conveniently comes with a pair of gloves.
Automated, digital home urinalysis doesn’t come cheap. U-Scan starts at $499.95 (€499.95) and includes the device and a cartridge. After that, it’s a $30 per month (€30.00) subscription.
The product could begin shipping in Europe as early as the second quarter and will ship in the US pending FDA approval.
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