UriSens, urine sensing in Robot Toilet

Novio Pelvic has developed a Robot Toilet that is able to identify the person and adjust the toilet seat height accordingly. The toilet has an integrated flow meter and measures urine flow and volume. It is also able to image stool and classify it using the Bristol scale. Application of this Robot Toilet is envisioned in a nursing home, where it will be able to link this information to the individual person. This information is extremely important to monitor individuals regarding urological problems.
The next step is to insert into the Robot Toilet a sensor or series of sensors that can measure properties and composition of urine. Here one can think of macroscopic properties, such as turbidity, temperature and pH, but also presence of, for example, certain biomarkers, bacteria or viruses. This information is important for monitoring the health of the person, for example to detect dehydration at an early stage or to detect a possible infection.

In this project we investigate which characteristics/biomarkers/bacteria are medically interesting to measure in a toilet (which parameters provide information regarding a disease), and which sensors are available commercially or with a high TRL (technology readiness level). The goal is to eventually realize a prototype Robot Toilet in which a number of sensors are placed.

In this project you will contribute to the development of a sensor to be used in a Robot Toilet. The developed prototype will be first tested for analyte detection in non-complex media such as water or buffer. Next, it will be validated with complex samples, e.g. urine. Furthermore, it will be investigated how this sensor can be integrated into the Robot Toilet.

Educational programs:
- Biology and Laboratory Research / Biologie en Medisch Laboratoriumonderzoek (BML)
- Mechanical Engineering / Werktuigbouwkunde (WTB)
- Applied Computer Science / Technische Informatica (TI)
- Chemistry / Chemie (C)
- Chemical Engineering / Chemische Technologie (CT)

Interested, please send your motivation letter and CV before the 4th of July 2022 to

Peter Schön
p.m.schon.01@saxion.nl