Withings U-Scan puts urinalysis in your toilet and can recognize the signature of a stream
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We urinate an average of seven times a day and probably pay little attention to the act, other than noticing color or that specific smell that eating asparagus gives it. Urine, however, is packed with information that health tech company Withings hopes to deliver to your phone through its new U-Scan home urinalysis device.
Unveiled here at CES 2023, the puck-like sensor attaches to your toilet and uses a cartridge full of tiny test pods to sample and test your urine. According to Withings, thanks to a thermal sensor, it can automatically detect when someone pees on it and even, using a low-power radar sensor, identify individual stream signatures. Simply put, U-Scan knows if it’s you or, say, your wife peeing on the puck.
Of course you still have to pee on it to know that, so aim.
It’s not the outside of the fiberglass-reinforced polymer-covered U-Scan that reads your urine sample, by the way. 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 looks for many of the same urine markers your doctor does. However, Withing notes in the product release that the device is not designed to replace the advice, diagnosis or treatment of medical professionals.
According to Withings, U-Scan Nutri Balance can read the pH balance (acidity) of your urine. ketones (carbohydrate levels), vitamin C levels, and water balance (hydration). The Withings app keeps track of these parameters and lets you know if they are “stable” or in “optimum” range, for example.
U-Scan is not only able to test your nutritional balance, but can also be used for tracking the female cycle.
Withings claims its U-Scan Cycle Sync is the first automatic hormonal solution. The companion app allows it to perform daily hormone and nutrient biomarker analyses. The information derived from U-Scan’s urinalysis can help predict the menstrual cycle and determine the ovulation window for those who want to conceive, according to Withings.
All this information is delivered to your iPhone or Android device over Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/). It is also Bluetooth ready.
U-Scan is rechargeable via a USB-C port, but you don’t have to worry about taking it out of your toilet every day to charge. Withings claims that U-Scan has three months of battery life. And if you need to charge it or change the test pod puck, U-Scan comes handily with a pair of gloves.
Automated, digital urine analysis at home is not cheap. U-Scan starts at $499.95 (€499.95), which includes the device and one cartridge. After that, it’s a $30 per month subscription.
The product could start shipping in Europe in early Q2 and will ship in the US pending FDA approval.
Check out our CES 2023 hub for all the latest from the show as it happens. We cover everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops and smart home gadgets, so stay with us for the big stories.