Gender sensitive medicine in Germany

Not so long ago, women were often only (meant to be) included in most things. This could be seen in language, in everyday life (where, for example, vehicle safety is orientated towards the male standard body, as this is what crash test dummies are built according to), but above all in medicine. This is now finally changing. Women and their needs are becoming more and more equal. Gender-sensitive medicine is on the rise. This is also due to the fact that half of the world's population  offers immense market potential. Fortunately, it is no longer just about pink razors, but also about vital education, diversification in research and medicine or the revision of outdated legislation, such as the recent abolition of Paragraph 219a.

The fact that for a long time medical research and development only focussed on the male standardised body was due to the reproductive capacity of women. Clinical studies seemed too risky in order to protect them, pregnant women and unborn babies. As a result, the proportion of research focussing on women's bodies is extremely low. This is known as the gender data gap. This means that not only are medicine, treatment methods and medication for female patients not tailored to the needs of their bodies, but misdiagnoses also occur. Although it is estimated that 500 billion US dollars are spent on medical services for women, only four per cent of all research and developments in the healthcare sector are carried out specifically for women's health. The fact that women spend almost 30 per cent more on health products and services illustrates their greater awareness of health and speaks for the large market potential.

Biologically, the female hormone balance in particular differs greatly from that of men. A significant part of a woman's life is influenced by her menstrual cycle, on which fertility and contraception depend. The desire for sustainable and service-orientated solutions that fit in with the lifestyle and do not require radical hormone administration is particularly high between the ages of 25 and 40. This is where digital health solutions can help to keep an eye on the cycle. They can support the desire to have children and be used for contraception. There are other options for pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. Apps are used in conjunction with smartphones, as are wearables. Artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data support diagnosis and analysis.

Knowing your own cycle precisely and being able to assess it helps to identify fertile and infertile days. Tracking apps are particularly suitable for this, as they record not only your period but also your sleep, skin condition, body temperature, emotional state and cramps. With the help of artificial intelligence, increasingly precise calculations of the cycle and ovulation are being made. Some apps offer health assistance or counselling functions.

Here is an overview of a few apps, technologies and gadgets that women should know about:

One of the first and probably best-known femtechs is the provider of the menstrual cycle app Clue, co-founded in 2012 by Ida Tin, who coined the term "femtech". More than 12 million people in over 190 countries use the app, which combines science and technology to provide people with basic, evidence-based education on health, periods and sexuality. The aim is to create awareness of their body and its functions, as well as body awareness and the ability to deal with symptoms confidently. Women can then make informed decisions accordingly. Since 2020, pregnancy support has also been added to the cycle calendar.

Since 2016, the Ovy app, in combination with a thermometer, has been tracking the exact and reliable measurement of basal body temperature, which provides information about the hormone increase at ovulation. The entries of other body signals lead to a reliable calculation of fertile and non-fertile days. Ovy offers pregnancy and ovulation tests via the webshop.

Ava from Switzerland is a wearable, a bracelet that is worn while sleeping, with a smartphone app for fertility tracking. The bracelet records cycle-related data and analyses it using algorithms and machine learning to determine the most fertile days and detect irregularities. The associated smartphone app visualises the cycle and provides support, especially when trying to conceive. 20 per cent of the revenue from each Ava bracelet also goes towards research and development in women's health.

Inne from Berlin is a "minilab" that measures fertility based on the progesterone status in saliva and draws conclusions about fertility and ovulation. A test stick moistened with saliva is read by a small reader (honoured with the Red Dot Award in 2021) and detects even the slightest hormone changes in the saliva. The reader transmits the measurement results to the corresponding app. The app displays the hormone curve and thus the cycle based on the personal results.

Pregnolia is a measuring device for improving medical care during pregnancy, especially for diagnosing premature births. Gynaecologists can use the device to measure the stiffness of the cervix, which provides important information for the early detection of impending premature births. Previously, this was only possible by manual palpation with the appropriate experience or - at a later stage in pregnancy - by measuring the length of the cervix using ultrasound. Pregnolia emerged from a research project at ETH Zurich.

While the cycle apps primarily raise awareness of the cycle and incipient irregularities through the perimenopause and provide corresponding behavioural tips, the wearable Grace from the UK focuses on typical symptoms of the menopause: The bracelet, which is still in the planning phase, detects hot flushes before the body can recognise them itself and activates a cooling pad that cools the wrist. An accompanying app is designed to provide information about the progression of the hot flushes.

Femtech companies make an important contribution to research, as they collect previously unknown data and make a significant contribution to digital healthcare. This is why femtech is also one of our future industries at Oseon.

Kathrin Folkendt's Femtech Insider provides a comprehensive overview of the market and a good network for founders, investors and researchers in the sector.

Cover picture: Ksenia Chernaya on Pexels