On March 8, the world celebrated International Women’s Day. The day is a focal point in the movement for women’s rights and gender equality. A rise in femtech is transforming women’s lives and diversifying healthcare. Here are a few companies that are offering products focused on making women’s lives easier and comfortable.
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Elvie is a UK-based femtech hardware startup. The company developed a wearable, wireless breast pump that fits inside of a standard nursing bra, allowing for hands-free pumping. Called the Elvie Pump, the Bluetooth-equipped device draws milk out completely soundlessly. The nursing mothers can move around and go about their daily routine during the process. An iOS or Android app enables them to check how much milk the pump has collected, track the output of milk from each breast, and stop and restart the pump if necessary. When the device’s detachable 5-oz (150-ml) bottle gets completely filled, Elvie will automatically cease pumping. The company recently signed a strategic partnership with the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) to tackle urinary incontinence in women. Through the partnership, the NHS will supply the Elvie Kegel Trainer, a connected device which takes women through a five-minute Kegel exercise to strengthen their pelvic floor muscles.
Flo Health is a Redwood City, CA-based women’s health startup that focuses specifically on predicting a user’s menstrual cycle. The company’s develops Flo, a women’s health product that offers health solutions for girls and women at every stage of their life. Flo Health uses Artificial Intelligence to personalize its platform and takes users’ age, health goals and physical condition into consideration. The app allows users to access period and ovulation tracker, data on health and mood, birth control reminders and daily health insights. The pregnancy and post-pregnancy mode in the tool allow expecting and new mothers to see their baby’s development. “Flo is aiming to become more than just an app, with a hub covering all aspects of female health”
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Fitbit has added female health tracking in its iOS and Windows apps, enabling users to track their menstrual cycle and keep track of fertility windows. The feature is available for both the wearable maker’s first two smartwatches – the Versa and Ionic. Utilizing the data collected the smartwatch will let the user know when her next period will likely occur and suggest the best time frame for conception. The company claims that the more data it collects, the more precise the forecasts will be. It will also feature push notifications that will send the user a reminder 2 days prior to her next period.
INNOVO is a product of Atlantic Therapeutics, a developer of professional and consumer medical devices. The company’s product INNOVO is an FDA-cleared non-invasive wearable to treat Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) in women. Developed by Atlanta Therapeutics, INNOVO sends targeted and pain-free muscle stimulations through a pair of shorts, via neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), to safely and effectively strengthen the muscles in the pelvic floor. The INNOVO thigh-length, elasticized therapeutic shorts are outfitted with eight electrodes sewn in a crisscross formation across the pelvic region. When activated via its attached hand-held controller, INNOVO delivers a series of pelvic stimulations equivalent to Kegel exercises for strengthening the pelvic floor.
