This smart device goes in your toilet for at-home urine analysis

IT will soon be possible to perform advanced and personalized urine analysis at home, thanks to a small connected module that fits inside the toilet bowl, unveiled exclusively at CES 2023. The results will be available on the user's smartphone, via an accompanying application.

Smart health specialist Withings is innovating once again with this at-home urine analysis tool. Depending on who's using it, this unique process, called U-Scan, can help people take care of their nutritional health or track their menstrual cycle, for example.

The module that goes into the toilet takes the form of a 9 cm diameter device, fitted with interchangeable test cartridges measuring various biomarkers. The device is synchronized with the Health Mate application, which provides the analysis results.

In practice, the urine flows to a collection point where the automatic activation of a pump leads a sample into a small test capsule where the chemical reaction is read by an optical sensor. At the end of each measurement, the remaining liquid is of course purged, and the system is automatically cleaned after each flush. In addition, U-Scan can identify users thanks to low-energy radar sensors integrated in the reader that detect the speed, distance and dispersion of the urine stream.

The U-Scan Cycle Sync cartridge can predict the menstrual cycle and determine the ovulation window based on hormone detection, as well as monitoring key hydration and nutrition biomarkers and pH levels. The U-Scan Nutri Balance cartridge analyzes pH, vitamin C and ketone levels. It will help users monitor their metabolic intake to optimize their daily hydration and nutrition. On the user's smartphone, the mobile application will be able to recommend workouts and recipes to achieve the identified goals. Withings obviously specifies that these analyses are not intended to replace professional medical advice.

This project required four years of research and development, and the device is suitable for any (western-style) toilet.

U-Scan is scheduled to be released in Europe in the spring of 2023, accompanied by its refill cartridges. A starter kit will be priced from €499.95. Each cartridge is designed to deliver approximately three months of measurements.

At last year's CES, Withings made a splash by presenting its Body Scan smart scales capable of calculating body fat in any part of the body, performing an electrocardiogram and even flagging up certain chronic diseases by analyzing nerve activity in the foot. Withings' wider offer includes a whole range of products focused on health, from hybrid watches to connected scales, a smart thermometer and a sleep sensor.

Note that US researchers recently developed a stool analysis system that can be fitted to the pipes of a toilet in order to monitor patients suffering from intestinal disorders.