Here are the most innovative medical devices, tests, and treatments for women that could reach consumers in the next few years.
The past year was not a great one
for women’shealth technology. First there
was the Bluetooth-enabled“smart tampon” that raised
eyebrows with its clunkyand impractical design. Then came
security concernsthat hackers might be able to access
private healthdata from mobile apps designed to
help women tracktheir menstrual cycles and
fertility.We’re hoping 2017 is better.
Luckily, more startups arerealizing that women and men have
different health needs.As a result, more companies than
ever are developing newproducts and services to address
childbirth, contraception,and medical conditions specific
to women. Here are someof the most interesting women’s
health technologies in the pipeline.Needle-free breast reconstructionWith the rate of double
mastectomies on the rise, morewomen are facing the decision of
whether to get breastreconstruction following surgery.
For decades, preppingfor breast implants has involved
needle-based tissueexpansion that’s often painful
and inconvenient. Aneedle-free, patient-controlled
device that expandstissue with small amounts of
carbon dioxide couldchange that. The device has been
tested in a largeclinical trial at Columbia
University and is awaitingFDA approval.
This
handheld, needle-free device uses compressed carbon dioxide to gradually expand tissue
following a mastectomy.A
diagnostic for endometriosisSan
Francisco–based Dot Laboratories, headed by HeatherBowerman,
has developed a test for endometriosis, an often painful disease in which tissue that normally
grows inside the uterus grows outside it instead. The
disorder affects nearlyone in
10 women worldwide and is a common cause of infertility.Typically,
the only way to definitively diagnosis the disease is with
invasive surgery. In the U.S., it takes an average of11 years
for a woman with endometriosis to receive a correctdiagnosis.
Bowerman wants to change that. Her company has created a blood test for the disease and plans
to launch the test in mid-2017.At-home
Pap smearWhile
most insured women have access to regular Pap smears toscreen
for cervical abnormalities, many women may still miss outon
screening for a variety of reasons, including the embarrassingand
awkward nature of the test. Toronto-based Eve Medical hasdeveloped
a do-it-yourself kit that allows women to swab themselves and test for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and human
papillomavirus (HPV).Once a
woman does the swab, she mails it back to the company foranalysis
in a lab. The company is currently selling the tests online to Canadian residents. Eve
Medical’s at-home Pap smear allows women toswab
themselves for sexually transmitted infections andmail the
test for analysis.Spit-based
fertility test Katie
Brenner, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin,
Madison, founded BluDiagnostics after havingtrouble getting pregnant and feeling
frustrated with the fertility tests on the market. Her company is building a
prototypeof a
saliva-based device that measures female hormone levelsand is
designed to be used at home to predict ovulation, diagnose pregnancy, and identify hormonal issues that
might be preventing a woman from getting pregnant. If the company
can prove in clinicaltests
that the technology works, the approach could potentially replace hormonal tests that are traditionally
performed by drawing
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