Shaoduo Technology Launches Automated Urinalysis Kiosk for 14-Parameter Self-Health Screening

“Many people often wait until they exhibit obvious symptoms of poor health before seeking medical diagnosis, while neglecting early-stage disease prevention,” said Zhang Zhenbo, founder of Shaoduo Technology, in an interview.

According to the “Analysis of Penetration Rate and Future Development Trends of China’s Health Checkup Industry in 2017,” from the perspective of the number of health checkup visits, the penetration rate of health checkups in China is significantly lower than that in developed countries, standing at only 27.5%. Clearly, there remains substantial room for growth in China’s domestic health checkup sector.

In the past, most people adhered to a health philosophy that “prioritized treatment over prevention.” Today, however, consumers’ awareness of self-health management has improved, driving the emergence of various health management companies and products. Shaoduo Technology is one such player in this space.

Based on past experience, Zhang Zhenbo is a typical man of action.

It has been ten years since Zhang Zhenbo embarked on his entrepreneurial journey in 2010, and he has never ceased moving forward. Whether it was the initial Weibo marketing platform or the later Sound Alliance, he seemed capable of seizing each innovative opportunity. Now, he has set his sights on the field of self-service health testing, assembled a team specializing in hardware and mechanical R&D, and founded Shaoduo Technology in 2016.

Having conceived the idea of entering the healthcare sector, how does one select an appropriate entry point? ShaoDuo Technology has provided its own answer: urine testing.

Urinalysis is one of the routine medical tests, including routine urine analysis, detection of formed elements in urine, and quantitative testing of protein components. It has significant value for clinical diagnosis, evaluation of treatment efficacy, and prognosis. Long-term urinalysis is necessary for patients with kidney disease, diabetes, and other conditions.

Urinalysis in China has undergone decades of development, and the testing technology is now highly mature. Consumers can currently purchase urinalysis test strips and related devices on major e-commerce platforms, which led Zhang Zhenbo to recognize the feasibility of consumer-performed urinalysis. Meanwhile, Zhang Zhenbo also observed that most such products require consumers to perform sample collection themselves, indicating that there is still room for improvement in urine testing methods.

In response, Zhang Zhenbo led his team in developing a proprietary health-monitoring urinal that achieves full automation of the urine collection, testing, and analysis process, significantly improving urine analysis efficiency and enabling users to identify health issues at a lower cost.

The self-service health-monitoring urinal developed by Shaoduo Technology primarily focuses on the 14 parameters of routine urinalysis. Meanwhile, the Shaoduo Technology team is planning to expand its testing scope to include ovulation detection, pregnancy testing, and early warning for a broader range of diseases.

When using this product, users simply need to align with the sampling port to provide a urine sample, then complete payment by scanning a QR code, and obtain urinalysis results within just two minutes. The entire process requires no manual sampling or sample transfer, which not only prevents sample contamination caused by improper user handling but also reduces the time required for sample collection.

Self-Service Health Screening Urinal

After scanning the QR code, users can directly access the associated mini-program “Yu Ce” for the self-service health-monitoring urinal to retrieve urine test results and abnormal parameters, and to understand the specific health implications of each indicator.

In terms of detection principles, Shaoduo Technology employs dry chemistry urinalysis and medical-grade urine test strips, while leveraging artificial intelligence diagnostic technology to recognize strip colors, thereby ensuring the accuracy of urine test results.

Currently, Shaoduo Technology has filed 16 patents for core technologies, of which 11 have been approved.

To maximize product reach, Shaoduo Technology’s target deployment scenarios are restrooms in scenic areas, shopping malls, railway stations, and similar venues.

On the one hand, urinalysis is not a high-frequency activity; users can simply visit public restrooms equipped with self-service health monitoring urinals for testing when needed. On the other hand, for venues such as shopping malls and tourist attractions, these self-service health monitoring urinals do not interfere with the normal use of existing restroom facilities. Instead, these venues can generate additional revenue through users’ self-service urine testing activities.

As the equipment is shared, Shaoduo Technology has also developed a series of technologies, such as air-gap sampling and automated midstream urine collection, to prevent cross-contamination of urine samples. During each sampling process, high-precision sensors in the urinal automatically distinguish between initial-stream and midstream urine, selecting only the midstream portion for testing. This approach aligns with current clinical requirements for urine sample collection. Furthermore, the discarded initial-stream urine helps rinse the urinal to some extent.

Connected to the sampling port is a funnel device, rather than the anticipated urine collection cup. After the sampling port collects urine that meets the required specifications, the urine is transferred onto the test strip via an air-gap sampling funnel, thereby avoiding issues such as secondary contamination and urine scale formation that may occur with the use of urine collection cups. Upon completion of sampling, the urinal automatically initiates a flushing cycle to ensure the cleanliness of the device.

Given the relatively humid environment in which the equipment is located, the packaging boxes for storing test strips in the urinals have undergone rigorous sealing and dehumidification treatments, ensuring that the test strips remain dry for up to one month. Furthermore, each test strip cartridge holds approximately 200 strips, and staff regularly replace and replenish them.

Currently, the self-service health-monitoring urinal has been successfully deployed in the public restrooms of the “White Deer Plain · White Deer Granary” scenic area, where users can undergo a routine urine test for just 10 yuan.

Regarding the target user base, the self-service health-monitoring urinals currently developed by Shaoduo Technology are primarily designed for men. Devices tailored for female users are undergoing refinement and improvement, with market launch expected within the next two months.

In terms of testing indicators, Shaoduo Technology’s product scope is not limited to the 14 parameters of routine urinalysis. The team is currently working on leveraging urine tests to provide services such as early screening for tumors and cancer, ovulation prediction, and pregnancy detection.

In terms of market expansion, Shaoduo Technology will initially focus on first-tier cities while achieving mass production of its products. The target application scenarios will expand from tourist attractions, shopping malls, and transportation hubs to hospitals and health management institutions. Regarding its business model, Shaoduo Technology has adopted a hybrid approach combining agency franchising with partial cooperative self-operation. This strategy enables the Shaoduo Technology team to dedicate more resources to product research and development while ensuring effective market expansion.

Regarding team expansion, Zhang Zhenbo stated that Shaoduo Technology’s early team was predominantly composed of R&D professionals. However, with market expansion, the company now requires more talent in operations and management. Additionally, to support future business growth, the team also needs to recruit professionals with medical expertise.

Furthermore, in terms of business operations, Shaoduo Technology will also provide users with online consultation services and health big data services, thereby achieving a seamless integration between health management and disease treatment.

Currently, Shaoduo Technology is conducting its Series A financing round, aiming to raise RMB 10 million. The proceeds will be primarily allocated to product technology research and development, market expansion, and team enlargement.