If you wait years for a urine analysis company, they all go with the flow. One of the notable trends at his CES in Las Vegas this year is the deepening of the quantified self movement. No longer content with just wrist-based heart rate, step count, and ECG measurements, a new generation of startups is nudging toward full medical-grade analysis of their users.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
Withings
Withings U-scan. image credit: Withings.
Health hardware company Withings announced this week that it has released the U-Scan in Europe and is working with the FDA to secure its launch in the US as well. Uses a hands-free method that can measure up to 3 months with a single cartridge.
olive
Once you get over the tension of having so many cameras near your junk, Olive can analyze your pee on the go. Image credit: Haje Kamps / TechCrunch
Israeli startup Olive recently raised $10 million in funding, promising to analyze urine using only optics. The company uses special toilet seats that do not require strips or additional accessories. It will initially target nursing homes and vulnerable populations, but hopes to find a user base in many healthcare sectors.
alive
The Vivoo solution dispenses the strip and swallows it for optical analysis. No need to touch. image creditBy: Haje Kamps/TechCrunch
Vivoo has long been making home urinalysis strips and just showed off its next iteration of its business with smart toilets. It targets the residential cavities, seniors, and healthcare markets. It provides a convenient alternative for users who may struggle to perform urine tests with handheld urine strips.
It’s easy to imagine that the “world’s first” marketing message at the booth was a little awkward. Especially considering that Vivoo’s booth was right next to Withing’s, showcasing how they beat off a “world first” to market.
This product is a prototype with broader deployment planned in the not too distant future. The company has raised his $6 million Series A in June 2021. The round was led by Draper Associates.
special zone master
I see. image credit: SZM
please do not worry. Urine wasn’t the only thing at his CES this year. I also discovered SZM (Special Zone Master).this is your other Favorite Excrement – Poop. The company promises to analyze stool shape and color, record the time and frequency of bowel movements, and even detect the presence of blood.
“By simply examining your stool, you can spot the first signs of health problems and take action before it’s too late,” the company says in its marketing materials. We wanted to know more, but the company’s founders were nowhere to be found — perhaps they were taking a well-deserved toilet break. It wasn’t entirely clear how far we were on the road to bringing it to the toilet seat.
