Pregnancy tests conducted via smart toilets

Female ER patients could save swathes of time with smart toilets conducting urine pregnancy tests.

Spotted: Springwise always values innovations that aim to help those in need. Parents and expecting mothers can often benefit from modern technology. We have already spotted such useful products as a silent and discrete breast pump or a prepaid card for young families. Now, innovation has gone even further back in the parenthood journey to help mothers before they find out they’re pregnant.

Voyant, a medical startup based in Chicago, has found a means of easily and non-intrusively taking urine samples from women. Many women in the US waste far too much of their time in an emergency room completing lengthy tests. Being able to cut down that process gives women greater medical freedom. This enables them to get the necessary treatment faster. It also ultimately helps to drive vital metrics in emergency departments, thereby reducing the length of time that patients must spend in the ER.

Their smart toilet administers pregnancy tests in less than five minutes.  The device originated from a project co-founder Michael Tu was working on during graduate school. His classmates and he developed a cat litter box that could analyse urine for kidney disease. This lead to further research into advanced smart-toilet capabilities, specifically for humans. Their current project has undergone various tests to prove its efficiency and capacity.

For now, the device only conducts pregnancy tests, but the company foresees expanding to other medical tests. They are currently raising another round of investments and preparing for a summer 2019 hospital clinical test.