Exciting femtech developments with potential to transform health outcomes for billions

Femtech, a term coined in 2016 by Danish entrepreneur, author and health tech pioneer Ida Tin, refers to the development of products and services that use technology to address health needs specific to people with female biology.  

In other words, it’s health tech designed to transform outcomes for women – the half of the population who have long been overlooked, under-innovated in and under researched.  

Women’s biology is complex and often requires additional costs and resources when researching. Unlike biological males (who have a stable, 24h hormone cycle), women’s hormones dramatically fluctuate over a range of 24-38 days, making drug trials and testing more complicated and more expensive.  

Thanks to the birth of femtech, women’s mental health, maternal health, and hormonal health is finally beginning to receive the research and innovation it so desperately needs. It’s a sector that offers immense business opportunities too, as numerous gaps in women’s health needs are yet to be filled.  

As the health technology landscape evolves, it’s fantastic to see new femtech products and services. Below we’ve listed three that are currently being developed and may soon have a hugely positive impact on billions.   

For far too long, women’s choices of birth control have been vastly limited – especially if they are wishing to avoid hormonal options that can mess with both their minds and bodies.  

As it stands, you can either stick to barrier methods or opt for the rather painful copper IUD (intrauterine device) insertion that (unsurprisingly) lacks any kind of standardized pain-relief protocol. There are also fertility awareness-based methods that require daily tracking – while a great option for understanding fertile windows, can be susceptible to user error.  

Or if you were to consider hormonal options (which are often easier and more reliable), there is a serious lack of innovation to be seen. Oral contraceptives (like the pill and minipill), which are taken by an estimated 151 million women of reproductive age, haven’t changed or progressed since they were first developed in the 1950s.  

That’s why Cirqle Biomedical, a biotech based in Copenhagen, is striving to develop a new era in non-hormonal contraception with their human-centered approach and technology. They are developing a product that, according to their website, “aims to reinforce the cervical mucus barrier to provide effective birth control on demand without any hormones”.  

Currently in pre-clinical development, their tech will act as a localized option that can be used as and when, providing women will a long-overdue birth control option.   

2. A robotic, AI-powered ultrasound tool for endometriosis 

Endometriosis, one of the most underfunded and misunderstood conditions, affects 1 in 10 women worldwide. As a result, 10% of biological women experience excruciating pain and decreased quality of life on a monthly (or more frequent) basis.  

On average, the condition takes 8 years and 10 months to diagnose. That equates to almost a decade of medical gaslighting, dismissal, pain, confusion, and exhaustion. In most cases, a diagnostic laparoscopy (invasive procedure) is the only definitive way to diagnose endo – as MRI/ultrasound imaging techniques are not detailed enough to provide conclusive evidence.   

In an effort to bring down this timeline, health tech start-up EndoCure is developing novel ultrasound technology that produces medical images with a density at least 10 times higher than that of an MRI. Their solution would be transformative in diagnosing endometriosis as it would scrap the need for a laparoscopy and help bring women earlier diagnoses.  

According to their website, EndoCure are working to provide reliable imaging to anyone, anywhere. They’ve designed Revealan ™, a medical robotic imaging arm designed to integrate seamlessly with any ultrasound system.  

Patent pending; their product is currently at prototyping stage. You can watch a video of it in action here. As well as bringing down year-long diagnoses for end patients, Revealan will minimize the reliance on diagnostics and lower the risks that come with invasive procedures.    

Breast cancer, something that 1 in 8 women will have at least once in their lives, remains the #1 cancer killer for women despite being the most treatable type.  

The issue comes down to screening – mammography, which is the current standard procedure, has several drawbacks that result in too many women being diagnosed far too late.