Empowering women’s health globally has become an imperative, ensuring not only individual well-being but also contributing to the betterment of society as a whole. Gender-based healthcare disparities persist, creating inequalities in healthcare access and quality, with marginalized groups of women experiencing the most severe consequences, including delayed diagnoses and poorer health outcomes. Women’s health challenges, such as maternal mortality and limited access to reproductive healthcare, affect women across all socioeconomic strata.
In recent years, the convergence of scientific progress and wearable technology has opened new avenues for addressing these challenges. These innovative applications are poised to help alleviate the disparities women face in accessing quality healthcare, enabling informed choices, enhancing access to healthcare services, granting greater bodily autonomy, and mitigating the prevailing inequalities.
Here, we offer an overview of the latest innovations in wearable technology that hold the potential to empower women’s health in the years to come.
Menstrual Health Monitoring
Recent years have witnessed the emergence of various wearable devices designed to monitor menstrual cycles. These devices empower women, and in some cases, their partners, by providing insights into the unique aspects of their menstrual cycles. Notably, these wearables can predict ovulation, aid in family planning, and monitor cycle-related factors, such as the follicular and luteal phase durations. Additionally, they can identify irregularities in menstrual cycles that may signal underlying health conditions.
Examples of such wearables include the Oura Ring, renowned as a sleep fitness tracker, which also tracks menstrual cycles using body temperature data for monthly cycle predictions. Leading smartwatches like Fitbit and Garmin offer users the ability to log menstrual cycle data, offering insights tailored to individual cycles.
Management of Menstrual Pain
Innovative technology has recently been introduced to alleviate menstrual pain. One such wearable employs transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) technology, developed by the UK company Myoovi. This FDA-approved and CE-marked device offers a drug-free alternative for managing painful menstruation cramps. TENS, according to the gating theory of pain, generates electrical signals that interfere with pain signals reaching the brain, reducing pain perception.
Fertility Tracking
Approximately one in five American women (aged 15-49) struggles to conceive after a year of trying, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). To address this challenge, technology has been developed to help couples understand fertility better and enhance their chances of conception.
The Ava bracelet, for instance, aids women in tracking their fertility by collecting and analyzing various data points, including nighttime skin temperature, heart rate variability ratio, and resting pulse rate, to precisely predict fertile windows. Tempdrop, another wearable, tracks body temperature non-invasively to provide fertility predictions.
Pregnancy Monitoring
In 2015, the US-based wellness company Bellabeat introduced Shell, a wearable capable of monitoring the baby’s heart rate by capturing womb sounds and employing an algorithm to filter noise and amplify signals. Although not yet recommended as a medical device, this innovation paves the way for future technologies that can safely monitor critical factors contributing to maternal and fetal health during pregnancy.
Breast Health
Breast cancer affects one in seven women in their lifetime, highlighting the critical importance of early detection. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a wearable ultrasound scanner that could be incorporated into a bra, enabling early breast cancer detection. This flexible patch can be moved to scan the breast from various angles, providing ultrasound images comparable to those obtained in medical centers. The innovation targets women at higher risk of breast cancer, aiming to identify tumors in their early stages, enhancing the chances of effective treatment.
Postpartum Care
Innovations are underway to create wearable devices for new mothers to identify those at the highest risk of postpartum depression. Scientists believe that passive sensing data can help determine who would benefit most from postpartum psychological support. Initial pilot tests have shown promise, hinting at the potential for wearable devices in postpartum care in the near future.
As wearable technology continues to evolve, these innovations have the potential to transform the landscape of women’s health, offering improved monitoring, early intervention, and enhanced well-being for women across the globe.
