Connected tech company Withings announced the launch of U-Scan, a biomarker assessment platform that can be placed inside a toilet bowl to monitor an individual’s health using urine analysis.
U-Scan is a reader with changeable analysis cartridges that analyzes one’s urine for specific biomarkers associated and sends insights to the Withings Health Mate app daily.
The device differentiates between users via its Stream ID feature, which uses sensors to measure different variables to identify an individual’s urine stream.
U-Scan will launch with two consumer-facing cartridges in Europe, U-Scan Cycle Sync and U-Scan Nutri Balance. The company said Cycle Sync will provide period tracking, cycle predictions and ovulation windows based on hormone detection as well as hydration and dietary information.
The U-Scan Nutri Balance app focuses on hydration and nutrition recommendations. Withings said it analyzes specific gravity, pH, vitamin C and ketone levels.
Both are currently under development in the U.S. and will be available following FDA clearance. The device will be available in Europe in the second quarter this year, and Withings said future medical cartridges will be available once they receive the regulatory green light.
The healthcare industry-focused arm of the larger connected health tech company, Withing Health Solutions, will also make the U-Scan available to its partners for research purposes.
“The ability of U-Scan to perform daily urine analysis from the home will allow Withings to take its mission to help consumers fully utilize urine data to an entirely new level,” Withings CEO Mathieu Letombe said in a statement. “It’s one of the most exciting and complex products we have ever announced.”
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Withings expanded its portfolio over the past year with its purchases and partnerships focusing on remote healthcare monitoring.
In February, the health tech company purchased the Berlin-based personalized fitness and meal planning app 8fit.
The acquisition came one month after purchasing French medical device company Impeto Medical, which offers a tool for monitoring peripheral neuropathies.
In May, Withings revealed a remote patient monitoring program dubbed Withings RPM, which utilizes the company’s connected devices, including scales, watches, thermometers and blood pressure cuffs, to monitor patient metrics like heart rate, activity, blood pressure and sleep patterns.
Two months later, the company announced a partnership with digital clinical trial platform Medable, which would use Withings’ connected devices for decentralized clinical trials.
