Elvie, the women’s health tech pioneer behind a connected breast pump and smart pelvic floor exerciser, raised $97 million in a Series C fundraise earlier this summer. In September, the company announced the launch of its new smart, ultra-quiet, hands-free breast pump; the first of Elvie’s products to be broadly covered by insurance in the US. Similarly, wearable breast pump company Willow announced an additional $26.8 million in funding through a Series C Extension round, bringing the company’s total Series C investment to $81.8 million. The companies’ pumps are controlled through their respective mobile apps, to allow for wireless and hands-free pumping.
Innovation in this space is long overdue, as very few strides have been made in the evolution of this gadget since the Civil War. From the invention of the breast pump in 1854 to the first hospital grade pump in 1942, to the first personal pump that didn’t require a trip to the hospital to use or rent, which wasn’t available for the home until 1999.
Innovations in connected devices across the sexual health and women’s healthcare industry
The connected devices business model proves successful, agnostic of industry. Babytech company Owlet created a smart sock connected to its digital platform to monitor babies’ heartbeats to bring peace of mind to parents in the wake of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Emme launched its Smart Case, an integrated solution designed to reduce the 9% failure rate of birth control pills. The smart technology device tracks pills taken and sends refill reminders through sensors connected to its mobile app.
On the fertility front, inne uses saliva in its simple at-home three-step monitoring system. Using a non-invasive saliva test, the inne reader interprets a daily hormone reading and sends results to an App using Bluetooth or wifi. From there, the app sends personalized messages about fertility and ovulation that correlate to hormone levels and cycle phases. Meanwhile kegg, goes beyond the familiar uses of a kegel ball to determine a woman’s fertility cycle by measuring the viscosity of the mucus in the woman’s vaginal passage and sending results via Bluetooth.
Connected wearables are moving from fitness trackers into sexual health
Connected wearables span the healthcare space and consumers are by now very familiar with fitness related companies from Apple Watch, FitBit and Peloton, to the sleep tracker ring, Oura. This familiarity has allowed brands to introduce new wearable technology to address other areas of our lives like the Thermaband Zone, a smart personal thermometer that detects changes in temperature of menopausal women, then provides cooling or heating sensations on the user’s wrist to ease the symptoms of hot flushes, along with personalized digital health insights sent to their app. On the sexual health front, connected devices from Vibio, MyHixel and Lelo, offer a range of app-control vibrators and sex toys.
Across the board, it’s evident that the connected devices movement is only beginning to scratch the surface in our data driven lives.
Head over to our blog page to read more ASV Insights. Next time, ASV Insights discusses trends in menstrual care following the $50M in a Series B financing secured by period and cycle tracking app, Flo.
