The U-Scan is a health lab which sits within any toilet bowl. It provides an immediate snapshot of the body's balance by monitoring and detecting a large variety of biomarkers found in urine along with actionable advice for health improvements. — AP
When nature calls, it’s best not to hold it in. Take a look at how technology around urine is being developed for many different reasons – from helping users learn more about their health to finding ways for people to pee in a safer and more convenient manner.
Super bowl
Fancy a toilet bowl that knows you based on your urine? Finnish startup Withings unveiled U-Scan at CES 2023 – essentially a device that you can install in your toilet bowl and get regular health-related readings via a smartphone app.
Users have to pee directly onto the device and a small sample will be collected. Then the cartridge in the device will measure readings such as pH levels, hydration levels and luteinising hormone (LH) to inform users about their health.
For example, the company said pH levels can act as an indicator as to whether they require more veggies in their diet, or even estimate their ovulation window based on the LH reading.
The cartridge can hold up to 100 tests and last for about three months, according to the company.
Withings CEO Mathieu Letombe says they are developing this product to help users perform everyday health readings that are not as invasive as blood tests.
“Why urine? Because it contains tons of information about your daily health,” he told The Verge. The device, pending regulatory approval in Europe, will be priced at €499.95 (RM2,306).
Meanwhile, Israeli startup Olive Diagnostics has also unveiled Olive KG, an AI-powered device with sensors capable of analysing urine samples directly from users.
By mounting the device to a toilet bowl, it can be used to measure red blood cells, ketones, proteins, pH, along with details like volume, colour and frequency of urination, according to a report by VentureBeat.
The data and analysis can be delivered to a doctor via cloud, eliminating the need for patients to visit the doctor just to provide urine samples. The product is currently being tested at several assisted living facilities in Holland.
Quick and easy
In Singapore, an automated urine test system is currently being trialled to make drug screening tests more convenient for ex-offenders.
According to Channel News Asia (CNA), the Prison Automated Screening System (Pass) will use robotics, sensors and deep learning technology to facilitate a contactless urine testing process. The process starts with a supervisee entering a Pass cubicle after verifying their identity through an iris scanner. Inside the cubicle, he will be asked to deposit a urine sample into a urinal with an automatic shutter.
After the sample is collected, a robotic system will test the sample with a dipstick. It will raise the dipstick in front of small cameras for the result to be interpreted and recorded. During this process, the supervisee will stay in the cubicle and will be allowed to exit once the test is clear. However, if the test needs further analysis, a prison officer will be alerted.
The system has also been trained with deep learning to detect real urine and identify one that is “pre-prepared” and then poured in, a method typically used by some to fake their test results. It is also faster – it takes about five minutes to complete the process compared to the manual urine test, which according to the report can take up to 12 minutes.
However, the system currently is only developed to test for samples from male supervisees as they are the majority who are required to undergo mandatory urine testing under the Singapore Prison System’s community-based programmes. The proof-of-concept trial is set to end in 2024. If successful, the cubicles will be deployed to more locations.
Curbing public nuisance
Elevators permeated with the smell of urine have become a major issue for subway commuters in New York, so much so that authorities will be exploring the use of sensors to detect urine which will then alert a cleaning crew.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York announced it will be following the lead of other US cities such as Atlanta, which have installed urine detectors in elevators since 2013.
According to a report published in 2013 by The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, the technology called UDD or “urine detection device” will consist of sensors installed along the base of an elevator. When it detects urine, an alarm will go off and the elevator will descend to the ground floor where security personnel will be waiting for the possible offender.
All the action that goes down in the elevator will also be recorded on a security camera.
Just to alert commuters, the elevator will also be fixed with a sign that says “Armed with urine detection device”.
Tom Beebe, the then director of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, claimed in the 2013 report that its UDD has managed to ward off some offenders: “What used to be a daily occurrence has dropped off.”
It’s not just the unwanted smell of urine that authorities are concerned about as reports also noted how urine left uncleaned for some time can erode surfaces and possibly damage critical equipment.
