Withings has a new streaming platform, but it’s not what you think.
At CES 2023 on Tuesday, the health tech company announced U-Scan, a smart device that analyses your pee from the comfort of your home. The pebble-shaped gadget fits in the toilet bowl and captures urine which is then analyzed internally by cartridges that assess various biomarkers. A user can check the results through the Withings Health Mate app and share it with their doctor.
But U-Scan isn’t just for one-off urinalysis. Now, the thing that forces you out of bed in the middle of the night can give you valuable information about your health, fitness, and fertility. Your pee contains a treasure trove of health information. With two different cartridge options you can monitor hydration, nutrition, metabolism, and vitamin levels, or ovulation and menstruation. All health data is compliant with Europe’s GDPR privacy regulations.
And the Health Mate app provides daily insights based on your stream. With the nutrition and hydration cartridge, the app tells you about your hydration, your protein and vegetable intake, carbohydrate intake, and vitamin C levels using biomarkers like pH balance and ketone levels. With the cycle tracking cartridge, you can pinpoint your menstruation cycle and ovulation window by measuring luteinizing hormone levels. By logging what you eat and how much water you drink, the app gives you tailored recommendations for recipes and workouts. So yes, pee journaling is now officially a thing.
If you share a bathroom with others, Withings has got you covered like a toilet seat. U-Scan’s “Stream ID” feature uses radar sensors “to identify an individual’s urine stream signature, by detecting the movement and distance of the stream,” according to the announcement. That’s some serious urine innovation, or “urinnovation” if you will.
If you live in Europe, “urine luck,” because U-Scan will be available to buy in early spring this year. U-Scan is also in development for U.S. market, pending FDA approval. The starter kit comes with a rechargeable U-Scan reader and cartridge which reportedly lasts for three months, including battery life. U-Scan is selling for 500 euros — so it’s not cheap, but with all the health insights to be mined, but your pee will be liquid gold.
