You’ve probably tried a period tracker app or invested in a Fitbit, but have you ever considered signs and symptoms that are related to your reproductive health?
Located in the Bay Area, NextGen Jane is an up and coming product that wants to talk to your body, decipher it, and report information that may otherwise be unknown. The new start up, “collects data and analyzes menstrual blood to monitor fertility and alert individuals to diseases that might otherwise go undetected.”
HPV, cervical cancer, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and uterine fibroids are only a small list of asymptomatic issues that may be missed during a yearly appointment. NextGen Jane has proposed a “smart tampon” that will collect women’s blood, test it, and send the information to a database — all in the privacy of a home.
Instead of waiting for test results or the impact of an illness, the “smart tampon” will detect a problem sooner rather than later, ensuring positive results and a complete diagnosis. Especially when it comes to under the radar STIs, which in the long run could cause fertility problems. 24,000 women “become infertile every year because of undiagnosed STIs” and with a staggering number of 19.7 million new STI cases a year, knowing your body is an important preventative step.
NextGen Jane is still in the works with scientist and entrepreneur, Ridhi Tariyal and Stephen Gire, paving the way at conventions and clinical trials; something as large as this product will take time. Testing, trials, and target consumers must be analyzed and understood before releasing the product into the market.
In short, women shouldn’t have to learn about their body only when something goes awry. This product hopes to give women access to anti-mullerium hormone levels, the tool to identify endometriosis, and a diagnosis for an STI, where women are more at risk for because of the thin lining of the vagina.
For now, NextGen Jane is traveling around the country. Their website is full of beneficial information and a quiz, detailing women’s health, and provides a fun and women-positive angle that the product aims to achieve. The role of the “smart tampon” is one that will empower all women to rightfully understand the data that is being discovered from their body through technology and science.
comments