Women's Health

MENSTRUAL AND GYNAECOLOGICAL HEALTH AND HORMONE MONITORING

Hormones play a vital role in reproductive health, influencing menstrual cycles, fertility, and menopause. New technologies are helping women better understand and manage these changes and our team is at the forefront of technologies such as:

• Hormone Monitoring: At-home testing kits and wearables now offer real-time tracking of hormone-related biomarkers, supporting fertility, menstrual health, menopause, and athletic performance.
• Menstrual Health: AI-powered period-tracking apps and smart wearables help predict cycle patterns and monitor hormonal shifts. Innovations in menstrual products—like self-cleaning cups and absorbent underwear—enhance comfort and sustainability. Technologies analysing menstrual blood are being developed to detect hormonal imbalances and reproductive conditions.
• Gynaecological Conditions: Non-invasive diagnostics, including AI-enhanced imaging and wearable symptom trackers, are improving early detection of conditions like endometriosis, PCOS, and fibroids. Home-use biosensors and self-sampling kits are making cervical and vaginal health monitoring more accessible.
• Microbiome Diagnostics: New platforms are analysing the vaginal microbiome to detect infections, inflammation, and risks for conditions such as bacterial vaginosis, yeast infections, and even preterm birth.

These innovations are driving a more personalised, data-driven approach to women’s health.

MICROBIOME AND WOMEN'S HEALTH

The human microbiome – a vast community of microbes – plays a critical role in physical and reproductive wellbeing. Differences between male and female microbiomes are emerging, opening the door to precision medicine approaches.

• Vaginal Microbiome: This dynamic system fluctuates throughout the menstrual cycle and is key to diagnosing and treating conditions such as infertility, miscarriage, preterm birth, gynaecological cancers, and menopause-related complications. Vaginal dysbiosis (microbial imbalance) is linked to bacterial vaginosis, yeast infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, persistent HPV infections, and increased cervical cancer risk.
• Emerging Technologies: Innovations include microbial immunotherapies to treat dysbiosis and at-home testing kits that empower users to monitor vaginal health and contribute to AI-driven diagnostics and biomarker discovery.
• Breast Milk Microbiome: Breast milk contains a rich microbial ecosystem essential for infant health and development. Understanding its composition is enabling the creation of bacterial supplements for powdered and donated milk—supporting babies who cannot be breastfed.

These microbiome-focused technologies are reshaping women’s health through earlier detection, personalised care, and improved outcomes

MENOPAUSE

Menopause can bring up to 48 different symptoms, including hot flushes, mood swings, and sleep disturbances to name a few. Often these can impact daily life and wellbeing to varying degrees of significance with some women experiencing debilitating symptoms. Modern innovations are paving the way for personalised, accessible solutions that help women navigate this transitional phase with greater comfort and confidence.

Today’s cutting-edge technologies include advanced treatments for severe vasomotor symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, as well as wearable cooling devices and thermoregulating clothing designed to provide immediate relief from hot flushes. In addition, wearable symptom trackers now enable users to monitor their experiences in real time, offering objective, data-driven recommendations for managing symptoms.

These developments are empowering women to take control of their menopause journey, making it easier to access tailored treatment plans and improve overall quality of life.

ONCOLOGY

Oncology is a critical area within women’s health. Cancers such as breast, ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancer impact millions of women globally. Innovations in diagnostics are transforming early detection, with at-home HPV tests for cervical cancer, AI-driven imaging for more accurate identification, and advanced research into biomarkers and liquid biopsies enhancing monitoring.

Treatment is also evolving: personalised medicine based on genetic profiling, targeted therapies, and less invasive surgical methods are improving patient outcomes and reducing side effects.

The advent of prophylactic HPV vaccines has significantly reduced infection rates, while efforts are ongoing to create therapeutic HPV vaccines and cancer vaccines for breast and ovarian cancers. Overcoming challenges in CAR-T cell therapy for solid tumours, researchers are now exploring CAR-NK, TILs, and dual-targeting CARs.

Other breakthroughs include antibody-drug conjugates like T-DM1 for HER2-positive breast cancer, and PROTACs that degrade oncogenic proteins—showing promise for hormone-sensitive and resistant tumours. Checkpoint inhibitors, especially in combination with PARP inhibitors or anti-angiogenic agents, are under investigation, with PARP inhibitors already approved for BRCA-mutated cancers.

PRECISION MEDICINE

Many common diseases – including arthritis, dementia, and heart attacks – can present differently in women than in men, often leading to misdiagnosis or delayed treatment. Technologies in this area are driving the development of precision medicine approaches that consider sex-specific symptoms, hormonal influences, and genetic differences. These include AI-powered diagnostic tools trained on female-specific data, biomarker testing that identifies early signs of disease in women, and wearable devices that track subtle physiological changes often missed by standard tools.

In addition to early detection, advances in personalised treatment plans – such as customised drug therapies and targeted interventions – are helping to improve outcomes for women by addressing the unique ways these diseases manifest and progress in the female body.

PSYCHEDELICS AND CANNABINOIDS

Psychedelics and cannabinoids are gaining attention for their potential benefits in women's health. Recent studies and clinical trials are shedding light on how these substances can address various mental health conditions and hormonal issues.

Psychedelics are currently making waves in mental health research, offering a new avenue of possible treatment options for conditions such as depression and eating disorders – conditions which disproportionately affect women. What’s more, research suggests that sex hormones such as oestrogen may influence how women respond to psychedelics, and understanding these interactions could lead to more tailored and effective treatments for women.

Psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound, is one substance which is garnering significant interest in the area of women’s health. It has shown promising results in treating depression; an NYU study found that a single dose of psilocybin can lead to remission for up to five years, and RE104, a psilocybin analog, is currently being trialled for postpartum depression. Psilocybin is also being studied for its effectiveness in treating anorexia.

Other psychedelics are also being explored for their efficacy in treating depression. Esketamine, a derivative of ketamine, has shown promise for treating postpartum depression, and 5-MeO-DMT, another fast-acting psychedelic, has shown promising results in a Phase 2b trial for treatment-resistant depression.

Another avenue now being explored is the use of psychedelics in pain management. Microdosed LSD is being investigated in clinical trials for its potential to alleviate premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a very severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) with severe emotional and physical symptoms which significantly interfere with daily life.

On the subject of pain, cannabinoids are being investigated for their potential in treating endometriosis. Emerging technologies in this area includes cannabinoid-based treatments delivered vaginally for chronic pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea (painful periods), and dyspareunia (painful sex), leveraging the anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties of cannabinoids to target the endometriosis-associated inflammation and pain through direct delivery to the pelvic organs.

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

Engineering and technology, including imaging and artificial intelligence remains a key area in women’s health for early detection and treatment.

Imaging and artificial intelligence for early detection and surgical planning, including breast and skeletal imaging  
Surgical devices for biopsy and surgical treatment, such as for breast and gynaecological health 
Medical devices for monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment, such as devices used to treat pelvic health and urinary incontinence  

Our team has expertise in medical imaging, medical image analysis and artificial intelligence, applied AI in the surgical/medical field, health monitoring software, surgical devices, medical treatment devices, biopsy devices, and medical sensing devices, which is paired with a genuine enthusiasm to see advancements in women’s health. 

Our team has prior experience in the following FemTech areas:

• Breast biopsy devices
• Pelvic health devices
• Surgical devices for gynaecological health
• Urinary incontinence devices
• UTI diagnostics
• Menstrual devices and products