New mHealth App for Urinalysis Debuts

Spitting on your cell phone was just the beginning: A new mHealth app allows you to analyze your urine using your smartphone.

uChek analyzes urine samples for the presence of up to 10 markers that can help users understand and manage diseases like diabetes, UTIs, and pre-eclampsia. It uses conventional dipsticks and a color mat. The app optimizes color matching through photos taken by the camera on an iPhone 4, 4s or 5.

While the uChek website boasts that the product can cut down on doctor visits, it also notes that “it is not intended to be used for the diagnosis or disease or other conditions.” While there is probably only a limited market of people who want to analyze their urine for entertainment purposes only, the uChek demonstrates the potential for mHealth apps to analyze fluids as the quality of smartphone cameras improves.