Fertility
Round up: First wearable detects symptoms of perimenopause, and more
Femtech World explores the latest business developments in the world of women’s health.
First wearable detects and decodes the symptoms of perimenopause
AI-driven women’s health company, IdentifyHer, has launched Peri, the world’s first wearable designed to detect and decode symptoms of perimenopause.
“75 per cent of perimenopausal women experience life-disrupting symptoms, yet perimenopause is treated like a mystery or an inevitability that women simply have to power through,” said Heidi Davis, co-founder of IdentifyHer.
“We reject this. Women deserve real data, validation, and support during this profoundly overlooked stage of life
“With Peri, we are pioneering a new era of women’s healthcare; one where women are in control of their health and equipped to manage the symptoms that shape how we feel – physically, mentally and emotionally.”
For most women perimenopause begins in the early to mid-40’s and brings wide-ranging symptoms that are often dismissed by healthcare providers.
Using biosensing technology and AI-driven analytics, Peri is a wearable device that passively tracks physiological signals to identify perimenopause symptoms and delivers personalised insights.
It helps women address perimenopausal challenges like anxiety, hot flashes, sleep disruption, nights sweats and more – issues that could have long-term health implications.
The device profiles these symptoms across the menstrual cycle, examining their interrelationships, and tracking changes over time.
“Heidi and I first launched IdentifyHer with the mission to support women’s long-term health, and immediately recognised that to do this, we need to address the gap in perimenopause symptom data,” said Donal O’Gorman, COO and co-founder of IdentifyHer.
“Our goal with Peri is to demystify perimenopause, but more importantly, to empower and reassure women they are not alone in what they’re feeling and it is possible to take proactive action towards their health.”
Emm raises £6.8m to launch world’s first smart menstrual solution
UK-based biowearable tech company, Emm, has raised £6.8m in an oversubscribed seed funding round, to bring the world’s first smart menstrual cup and connected app to market.
Creating a new category of “smart menstrual care”, Emm will equip users to understand their individual menstrual baseline and track key metrics for personalised insights into their menstrual health.
The funding will support Emm in bringing the product to market and accelerating the pathway to further clinical product development, as the business moves to transform the research, diagnosis and treatment of reproductive and menstrual health conditions.
Results published on potential endometriosis treatment
Biotech company Hope Medicine has announced that the results of a proof-of-concept Phase II clinical trial evaluating HMI-115 (a human monoclonal antibody targeting the prolactin receptor) for the treatment of endometriosis-related pain have been published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women’s Health.
The research, carried out in collaboration with Peking University, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Shandong University, and other institutions, aimed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of HMI-115 in premenopausal women with moderate to severe endometriosis-related pain.
Results showed that at the end of the 12-week treatment period, dysmenorrhea NRS scores decreased by 41 per cent, 34 per cent, and 27 per cent in the 240 mg, 120 mg, and 60 mg HMI-115 groups, respectively, compared to the 18 per cent reduction in the placebo group.
Non-menstrual pelvic pain NRS scores also decreased across all HMI-115 dosage groups, with sustained efficacy observed at Week 25.
The company says that percentage reductions of dysmenorrhea and non-menstrual pelvic pain in the 240 mg group was statistically significant compared to placebo.
Additionally, HMI-115 groups showed improvements in the Endometriosis Daily Impact Pain (EDIP) scores and reduced use of NSAID rescue medications.
In terms of safety, the incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) was 56 per cent, 59 per cent, 75 per cent, and 37 per cent in the 60 mg, 120 mg, 240 mg HMI-115 groups, and placebo group, respectively.
The most common adverse events included injection site itching and rash, dizziness, nausea, nasopharyngitis, and headaches.
No treatment-related deaths or serious adverse events were reported. Unlike existing hormonal therapies, HMI-115 did not cause hypoestrogenic side effects such as hot flashes or depression, and bone mineral density and key sex hormone levels remained stable during treatment.
This study is the first to clinically validate the potential of blocking prolactin receptor signaling to alleviate endometriosis-related pain.
Its non-hormonal mechanism of action avoids interference with ovulation and menstrual cycles, offering a promising new option for patients with fertility intentions.
The research team stated that these findings provide a strong foundation for initiating longer-duration Phase III trials to further evaluate the clinical benefits and risks of HMI-115.
A month of milestones in breast imaging innovation
Koning Health has said that October marked a substantial month for Koning in its mission to expand access to non-compression breast imaging.
The last several weeks saw the continued expansion of Koning’s technology to new and diverse settings across the country, including the official launch of Gnosis Dx, which introduced a mobile breast imaging and diagnostics platform powered by the Koning Vera Breast CT (KBCT) on the West Coast.
Designed to travel directly into communities, the Gnosis trailer is meant to reduce barriers to early detection and address disparities in access in the state of California.
On Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Pink Medical celebrated its grand opening this month with a ribbon-cutting event led by fashion icon Nicole Miller. This New York City location aims to redefine the breast imaging scene in the Big Apple.
Koning’s installation at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami brought the Vera system to one of Florida’s most respected medical institutions.
The device will be used both clinically and for research, advancing the understanding of breast CT’s role in precision detection and patient-centered imaging.
Koning continues to expand its international reach as the only breast CT manufacturing company that has received global critical regulatory and quality achievements including Koning’s 3D breast imaging system remains the only FDA-approved breast CT device commercially available for diagnostic use in the US.
The company is also seeing progress advancing in Australia (TGA) and through Europe’s GMED for CE Mark.
Gum disease may impair female fertility by triggering inflammation that affects the ovaries and egg quality, a study in mice suggests.
The findings point to a possible biological link between oral health and unexplained infertility.
Researchers said chronic oral inflammation was linked to oxidative damage, disrupted follicle development and reduced live birth rates in mice.
The study was led by prof Michael Klutstein at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and prof Asaf Wilensky at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center, with students Dr Paz Kles and Stephen Ameho.
Scientists examined inflammation linked to dental implants in a mouse model, a common clinical scenario, meaning the research was carried out in animals rather than people.
They tracked how immune signals moved through the body and found the inflammation did not appear to stay confined to the mouth.
Instead, it triggered a systemic immune response, meaning an immune reaction across the body, that reached the ovaries.
The animals had increased levels of inflammatory cytokines in the ovaries. Cytokines are proteins used by immune cells to send signals during inflammation.
Researchers also found changes in immune cell populations, oxidative damage to ovarian tissue, impaired follicle development and reduced oocyte quality.
Oxidative damage happens when harmful molecules damage cells. Oocytes are immature egg cells, while follicles are small structures in the ovaries that contain developing eggs.
These biological changes were linked to reduced live birth rates under inflammatory conditions.
The study also found that oocytes showed DNA damage and epigenetic alterations similar to those seen in reproductive ageing.
Epigenetic changes affect how genes behave without changing the underlying DNA code.
Prof Klutstein said: “Inflammation is often thought of as a localised response, but our findings show that it can have systemic consequences that extend as far as the reproductive system.
“This work suggests that chronic oral inflammation may be an underrecognised factor in female infertility, potentially contributing to cases that currently have no clear explanation.”
The researchers said the findings add to growing evidence linking oral health with overall health.
Chronic oral inflammatory conditions, such as periodontitis, are widespread and have previously been associated with systemic diseases.
Periodontitis is a severe form of gum disease that can damage the tissue and bone supporting the teeth.
The authors said further research in clinical settings would be needed to understand whether the findings translate to patient care.
If confirmed in humans, they said the work could support new approaches to diagnosis and treatment, including anti-inflammatory or antioxidant strategies aimed at improving fertility outcomes.
AI could transform ovarian care by personalising cancer and fertility treatment, but more clinical validation is needed before routine use.
A systematic review and meta-analysis found AI models showed high diagnostic accuracy for ovarian cancer when combining data such as ultrasound scans and blood test results.
Across 81 studies, AI models correctly identified ovarian cancer in around nine out of 10 cases, with pooled rates of 89 to 94 per cent.
They were also highly accurate at ruling out ovarian cancer when it was not present, with specificity of 85 to 91 per cent.
The analysis also found that explainable AI tools could predict complete surgical cytoreduction in advanced ovarian cancer.
Complete surgical cytoreduction means removing all visible cancer during surgery, which can be an important goal in treatment planning.
The tools achieved a pooled AUC of 0.87. AUC is a measure of how well a model distinguishes between different outcomes, with higher scores showing stronger performance.
In reproductive medicine, AI algorithms helped physicians optimise ovarian stimulation protocols and predict follicular growth during IVF.
Ovarian stimulation is the use of hormones to encourage the ovaries to produce eggs, while follicles are the small sacs in the ovaries where eggs develop.
The review found AI could reliably model ovarian response in IVF with a pooled AUC of 0.81.
However, researchers said challenges remain in translating promising research findings into routine clinical practice.
They identified substantial variation across studies, driven by retrospective study designs, variable AI systems and a lack of standardised validation.
Only 22 per cent of analysed studies reported prospective, multicentre external validation, where models are tested forward in time across multiple healthcare settings.
The authors called for rigorous validation to help close the gap between research and routine clinical practice, alongside standardised methodological and reporting frameworks, smooth integration with clinical workflow and robust governance to support responsible and ethical AI use.
They concluded: “Artificial intelligence is a transformative force in the management of ovarian conditions.
“In gynaecologic oncology, AI enhances every phase of care, from early detection and accurate diagnosis to prognostic stratification and surgical planning.”
In reproductive medicine, AI personalises ovarian stimulation and refines the diagnosis of heterogenous endocrine disorders such as PCOS.
PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome, is a hormonal condition that can affect periods, skin, weight and fertility.
Housing, work and fertility pressures are stopping many Britons growing the families they want, new research suggests.
A UK fertility report found that 79 per cent of people surveyed who had tried to conceive in the past five years would like more children than they currently have.
Among parents with one child, that figure rises to 88 per cent.
The report surveyed more than 1,000 people across the UK who had tried for a baby in the past five years.
While birth rates continue to fall, the findings suggest it is not because people no longer want children. Instead, many respondents said external pressures are making it harder to grow their families.
The findings, from wellness brand Wild Nutrition’s Fertility Disconnect report, highlight how financial pressures, fertility struggles and gaps in reproductive health knowledge are shaping modern family life in the UK.
Gail Madalena, fertility nutritional therapist at Wild Nutrition, said: “People often assume fertility begins the moment they decide to try [for a baby].
“In reality, egg and sperm health are shaped months and years earlier.
“By the time someone starts thinking about fertility, their body has already been responding to its environment for a long time.”
Among the biggest barriers, 26 per cent said career progression affected their family plans, 25 per cent cited housing affordability and lack of space, and 52 per cent said they required medical intervention during their fertility journey.
The report also found that almost a quarter of respondents had spent more than two years trying to conceive.
Trying for a baby can take a significant toll on mental health and relationships, especially for those navigating fertility treatment.
According to the research, 38 per cent of respondents said trying to conceive had negatively affected their mental health. That figure rose to 99 per cent among people undergoing fertility treatment.
Julianne Boutaleb is a perinatal psychologist.
She said: “Navigating a fertility journey is about so much more than medical appointments and procedures.
“It’s an emotional marathon that can take a huge toll on your mental wellbeing.
“Sadly, the stats show that 15 per cent of couples going through fertility treatment say their relationship has been irrevocably impaired.”
The report also highlighted the realities of secondary infertility, which affects around one in 20 people, challenging the assumption that having one child means conceiving again will be straightforward.
Researchers found many people felt under-informed about fertility, particularly younger adults.
Ten per cent of Gen Z respondents said they “know nothing” about fertility, while only one in five respondents said they know “a lot” about egg health.
The report also found that 60 per cent of women were unaware of fertility testing options, and one in five Gen Z respondents said they felt uncomfortable discussing fertility, even with their partner.
Around 40 per cent of those surveyed supported fertility education being included in schools, covering topics such as egg health, sperm health and hormonal health.
The report also explored how lifestyle and long-term health may influence fertility outcomes.
Many respondents said they only made changes once they started trying to conceive.
Some 44 per cent improved their diet when trying for a baby, while 32 per cent reduced alcohol intake at that stage.
The report also referenced emerging research that suggests ultra-processed foods and microplastics could have an impact on reproductive health.
While fertility conversations often focus on women, the findings showed male fertility issues are also affecting many families.
Seventeen per cent of respondents cited sperm health issues as a barrier to conception, while male factors contribute to around half of all fertility challenges.
Only one in four men said they would share fertility struggles with friends.
“Many causes of male infertility are entirely treatable yet so often the last resort is the first response,” said Ian Stones, co-founder at Test Him Ltd.
The findings come as UK birth rates remain below replacement level.
The report noted that the UK fertility rate is now 1.41, meaning that on average women give birth to 1.41 children over their lifetimes. The replacement rate, or rate that maintains population numbers, is 2.1.
It also said the average age of mothers has risen to 31, while birth rates are falling across most age groups except among over-40s.
“There is no single fertility story, and it is rarely a simple, linear narrative,” said Dr Zeynep Gurtin, lecturer in women’s health at UCL.
Dr Gurtin added that better fertility education, fairer access to treatment and more open conversations around infertility and pregnancy loss are needed.
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