News / Health
Company invents world’s first smart ‘menstrual health’ cup
A world first for menstrual health has been designed in our city.
Emm is a smart menstrual cup which uses sensor technology to notify your smartphone when it needs emptying.
The bio-wearable cup monitors and analyses menstrual fluid and the menstrual cycle to provide users with accurate health insights.
This regular monitoring has the potential to lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment of numerous reproductive health conditions.
The bio-wearable cup monitors and analyses menstrual fluid and the menstrual cycle to provide users with accurate health insights. Photo: Emm
The biotech start-up, which has an office near to Bristol Temple Meads, is a Google for Startups alumnus and is working in partnership with the University of Cambridge.
The insights provided by the device will allow users to spot any changes in patterns or irregularities in their cycle that could indicate a health issue. In its first generation, Emm will monitor menstrual flow rate, volume, length, and regularity.
Emm has the potential to revolutionise menstrual health and could prove crucial in playing a part in closing the gender health gap, with female health currently receiving just 2.5 per cent of health research funding.
The product, which can be worn for up to 12 hours, can hold as much blood as up to four tampons.
It comes with a reusable applicator and a cleaner which will sterilise and rinse the cup on the go.
Emm is made from medical-grade silicone and features a patent-pending dynamic, adaptive seal which shapes to the individual for user reliability, comfort and ease of use.
The Emm Team (from left to right) Chris Van Kempen, Jenny Button (founder) and Annie Chatwin. Photo: Emm
Jenny Button, who founded Emm in 2020, has won a Women in Engineering Grant in recognition for her innovation in health. She said: “There is so much biological information that could enable early intervention for healthcare, but no route to clear access. The menstrual cycle is a non-invasive route to giving our users better health data for better health outcomes.
“Many health conditions are difficult for researchers to analyse at the moment because they require invasive testing or regular monitoring which is inconvenient, time-intensive and often uncomfortable. Emm has the potential to do this in a practical, painless way.
“For Emm to be a useful tool with the potential to revolutionise research into female health, it needs to be something people actually want to use. That’s why it was important we developed a best-in-class period product.”
The waitlist for Emm is live on its website and the product will be coming out in 2023.
Photos: Emm
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