Withings U-Scan brings a urine lab into your home

Source: Withings

Your pee can tell a lot about your health, so Withings is banking on that with its new U-Scan device. This urine analyzer attaches to the front of your toilet like a scent puck. When you pee, it can collect a sample of your urine to analyze and send the results to your phone. 

It can monitor your hydration and nutrient levels, and test your urine's pH levels to determine your overall kidney health. You swap out the cartridges for it to track different things like one is used to track menstrual cycles. A cartridge is said to last for about three months of testing.

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Withings Body Scan connected scale measures body composition, nerve activity, and more

Source: Withings

French company Withings recently introduced its most advanced smart scale to date. The new Body Scan can monitor and measure ECG, weight, segmented body composition, and even nerve activity. It's made with high-strength tempered glass similar to the Body Cardio, but it gets extra sensors to help you learn more about what's going on in your body.

It has four weight sensors, 14 Indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes within the platform, and four stainless steel electrodes on the new handle. 

The handle can pass through safe, low-level electrical signals to your entire body, allowing a new 6-lead ECG to detect heart arrhythmias via these electrodes and those on the base of the scale. An embedded algorithm can detect heart patterns associated with atrial fibrillation. 

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Smart thermometer doesn’t need to touch your skin to take your temperature

One of the hardest things to do when your baby is sick is trying to take their temperature. The most accurate way to get their temperature is using a rectal thermometer. What if we told you there’s now an alternative to that? Withings introduced back in CES 2016 the Thermo, a device that just needs to do a forehead sweep to check if you or anyone else has a fever. It recently got FDA clearance in the U.S., which means they consider it safe and an accurate tool to measure temperature with. The Thermo has an array of infrared sensors in it that’s designed to measure your temporal artery, which runs up your temple and across your forehead.

Your temperature will show up on the screen on its other end after around two seconds or so. It takes into consideration things like the room temperature. And if you want to find out what your body temperature means, it’s a must to use the smartphone app that goes with it. The app also keeps track of past temperatures so you can see how a fever is going. It can also keep track of temperature readings for you and your family so it’ll know if your current temperature reading means you have a fever. It runs on two AAA batteries rated at having two-year life span. It retails for US$100 or around CA$130.

Source: Gizmodo

Nokia in talks to buy Withings for US $191 million

Nokia is reportedly in talks to buy French fitness gadget and wearable company Withings who made some waves a few years ago with its Activite fitness trackers which resembled classic timepieces. Nokia is apparently interested in investing into the health tracking aspect of the company, similar to Apple's HealthKit initiative.

Withings was founded in 2008 and has brought to market various connected health appliances, including smart watches, fitness trackers, thermometers, and baby monitors, among other gadgets. Nokia, who famously sold their phone business to Microsoft as well as their Here maps to a consortium of carmakers, is focused on Internet of Things and connected lifestyle products and ecosystems. 

"We have said consistently that digital health was an area of strategic interest to Nokia, and we are now taking concrete action to tap the opportunity in this large and important market," said Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri.

Source: Nokia