Japanese businesswoman Tsuruoka Maria’s effort to improve health

Tsuruoka Maria is a young Japanese businesswoman whose start-up is constantly researching technological development to improve people’s health.

Tsuruoka has transcended after developing a system that allows us to “visualize” our state of health, only from urine, when he was only 20 years old. What has inspired this Japanese entrepreneur to make this contribution to the future of an increasingly aging humanity?

The origins of Tsuruoka

Born in 1989, Tsuruoka witnessed her hard-working mother’s battle with the disease as a child. She realized a dilemma: the more a person works, the more she neglects her physical health.

After graduating from university, he worked in the venture capital sector, mainly supporting start-ups.

These experiences led her to think about “things that should exist for the benefit of society.” In this context, the problem that she had identified as a child came to mind.

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An encounter with biosensor technology inspired Tsuruoka to explore the possibilities. He began to study independently and to make prototypes.

To advance the project, he created his own company at the age of 24. Thus, he was born in 2014, SYMAX, Inc. to develop platforms for using IoT (internet of things) devices.

The “breakpoint” by SYMAX

Through a process of trial and error, the company arrived at the concept of a device for casually testing urine in a regular toilet.

“Some people said: Really? Can you make this come true?’ That’s because we were trying to do something that doesn’t exist in the world yet. But I never wavered in my belief that this is something the world really needs. That motivation made me keep going,” Tsuruoka has stated on several occasions.

The fully automatic SYMAX urine monitoring system is a system that combines a sensor with sophisticated algorithms.

The sensor analyzes with great precision the state of the body from the urine that the user deposits in the toilet. Algorithms, powered by the AI’s machine learning capabilities, are then used to interpret the data into physical health information.

The urine is analyzed instantly, and the data is converted into terms that users can easily understand, then the status is quickly sent to the user’s smartphone.

Previously, urinalysis required expensive equipment, but the new system is notable for allowing people to casually acquire data about their health as part of their daily lives.

Without even undergoing an examination in a clinic, but simply urinating commonly, it is possible to accurately check the health status of each one.

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The objective of SYMAX is that each person can obtain personalized health information through their cell phones, which allows the early detection of diseases related to lifestyle, such as diabetes.

Daily health check is linked not only to disease prevention, but also to better health awareness.

In an aging society, such as that of Asia, new technologies increasingly seek to improve people’s health, which is why SYMAX remains at the forefront of technological development.

The future of SYMAX

Currently, the start-up is promoting the system in the business world and several companies in Japan have already installed the device in their employees’ bathrooms.

The company also hopes to introduce the product abroad. Not only in advanced countries with aging populations, but also in emerging nations with poor medical services, the device is expected to help maintain people’s health.

“We tend to rely on intuition to make decisions and habits that affect health maintenance. But if we have accurate information, we can design a healthy lifestyle that suits our personal situation. If we can design our own health, we have more choices in life. Ultimately, I think this has the deepest relationship to our happiness.” With these thoughts in mind, Tsuruoka continues to strive, through technology, to change the way we manage our health.