Megan Garber praises the potential of uChek, a new app that helps you conduct self-urinalysis:
And, no, the app does not require you to pee on your smartphone. It does, however, require you to pee into a cup with a chemical strip attached to it. The app, Wired explains, then analyzes those strips “by first taking photos with your phone at predetermined times and comparing the results that appear on the pee-soaked strip to a color-coded map.” The app then offers a breakdown of the elements present in the user’s urine, comparing levels of things like glucose, ketones, leukocytes, nitrites, and proteins — much like a urine test conducted at a medical lab would do, only without the trip to the lab. The app then presents the results to the user, offering visual breakdowns that indicate normal versus abnormal levels of each compound.
From the Wired piece:
[uChek creator Myshkin] Ingawale’s own father-in-law, who is diabetic, has been an early tester of the Uchek app and system. “My wife is the one who wants the information,” Ingawale says. “She wants to make sure he’s taking care of himself. He just takes the test and e-mails her the results.” … [T]here is a pattern to what Ingawale is creating and bringing to market through his startup Biosense Technologies. “The medical device industry operates on proprietary, closed hardware and a recurring revenue business model,” Ingawale says. “I am trying to democratize healthcare.”
The Dish 