Women’s health goes high-tech

From menstrual cycles and fertility to the menopause, LIZZIE CATT investigates the gadgets that are helping to transform women’s lives

IT’S taken the male-dominated tech industry a long time to produce genuinely useful women’s health products. But at last, inspired by the success of a few game-changing inventions, the tide is turning – out with cringe-worthy gizmos such as 2013’s anti-overeating “smart bra” and in with the likes of Elvie’s clever wireless breast pump.

Innovations labelled “femtech” to help manage periods, maximise fertility, ease menopausal symptoms and strengthen pelvic floors are aiming to give women better understanding and control of their bodies.

MYLOTUS

The hand-held myLotus monitor (from £149; mylotus.com) measures the LH (luteinising hormone) concentration in a urine sample to indicate when a woman can get pregnant.

As ovulation occurs within 24-36 hours after an LH surge, myLotus is a great option for women with irregular cycles, as well as those who aren’t familiar with their usual ovulation days.

The monitor gives a precise LH readout which can be tracked by the app. It is particularly aimed at women over 40, when ovulation can be erratic, helping them fall pregnant naturally.

The amount of plastic involved – new pipettes and pots each day plus the sticks – may be offputting but many women report speedy results after months and even years of trying to

conceive.

PELVIVA PELVIC FLOOR TONER

Another new player in pelvic floor tech is Pelviva (£199.95 for 15 devices; pelviva.com).

Used internally, it’s covered in foam that adapts to the shape of the wearer. It uses reactive pulse technology – a type of muscle stimulation developed at the University of Manchester – and claims to achieve 25 per cent deeper penetration of pelvic muscles than similar products.

The devices are single-use and disposable, which may be a turn-off for the environmentally conscious, and as they are used every other day, the month-long programme requires 15 devices.

GRACE COOLING BRACELET

One area where “femtech” has been particularly slow off the mark is menopause but that’s finally starting to change.

One exciting product on the horizon is the Grace cooling bracelet (£TBC; gracecooling. com) which hopes to control and diminish the scourge of hot flushes.

While it’s not yet available to buy, the striking-looking smart bracelet will monitor temperature, detecting an imminent flush before the wearer is even aware it’s on the way, and activating a cooling patch on the wrist.

If worn in bed, the idea is to fend off the dreaded night sweats.And of course, there’s an app so wearers can better understand patterns and track frequency of their hot flushes.

ELVIE BREAST PUMP

Any woman who’s spent hours bent over a noisy breast pump, tethered to electric wires, tubes and a bottle of breast milk, won’t have been surprised that the original batch of Elvie wireless breast pumps (£249; elvie.com) sold out within 24 hours.

The silent, wearable pump fits inside a bra and pauses when the boob-hugging “bottle” is full.

An optional app monitors milk volume, tracks history and can control the pump remotely, so life can carry on instead of grinding to a halt when it’s time to pump.

Former Olympic skier and mum-of-two, Chemmy Alcott even posted on social media about expressing on a ski lift.

MARODYNE LIV

While osteoporosis can affect both sexes, women are more at risk of developing the condition after the menopause, hysterectomy or more than six months of absent periods, all of which affect bone density. Women’s smaller bones and longer lifespans are factors too.

The Marodyne LiV (£2,995; marodyne.co.uk), which looks like a stand-on bathroom scale, is a low-intensity vibration device designed to stimulate and regulate the stem cell processes, key to generating tissue, including bone, with 10-minute daily sessions.

The technique was developed by biomedical engineer Professor Dr Clinton Rubin in collaboration with Nasa to help astronauts regain bone density lost during time in space. Nasa has been instrumental in funding and developing the finished product and a 2004 study concluded that LiV slowed the rate of bone loss in post-menopausal women.

MOONA PILLOW COOLER

The Moona cooling system (discounted to £358 rate on pre-order until October; getmoona.com) wasn’t designed specifically to help with hot flushes and night sweats but research, in partnership with the University of Nantes, has shown that some perimenopausal and menopausal women were able to fall asleep more quickly after using it and reported feeling more rested the following day.

Based on the principle that lower temperatures aid more restful sleep, the Moona consists of a bedside device which monitors the room’s brightness, humidity and temperature while the memory foam-padded water cooler fits inside any pillow to create the ideal temperature around the head and neck.

Collected data is analysed and displayed on an app and there’s also a sleep coach section.

AVA FERTILITY BRACELET

Worn at night, the Ava fertility bracelet (£249; avawomen.com) monitors temperature, resting pulse, breathing rate, heart rate variability, changes in blood perfusion, movement and sleep patterns, all signs that alter during a woman’s cycle. The idea is to indicate five fertile days a month and the manufacturer claims monitoring the signs together leads to around 89 per cent accuracy. All the data is fed back to an app to help wearers understand their cycles.

INNOVO PELVIC FLOOR TONER

Urinary incontinence affects one- in-three women in the UK, usually after childbirth or menopause. The stigma around the subject has meant that many women have assumed there’s nothing to be done except buy incontinence pads and soldier on.

However, there are a growing number of gadgets designed to help women regain bladder control by strengthening their all-important pelvic floor muscles.

Most are designed to be used internally but one, Innovo (£249; myinnovo.com), looks like a pair of cycling shorts – perfect for anyone feeling a little bashful or concerned about infection risk.The shorts contain conductive panels that stimulate muscles, with different programmes for stress and urge incontinence.