The first webinar in the Accelerating FemTech: Inspire series was hosted by South West Academic Health Science Network (SWAHSN) and was on the topic of women’s pain and pelvic health tech.

The webinar was led by Dr Kelly Pickard-Smith who delivers the South West AHSN Programme for Femtech, research and evaluation. Kelly introduced the webinar and passed on to Natasha Curran, Medical Director at the Health Innovation Network and co-lead of the Implementation and Involvement team of the Applied Research Collaboration South London.

Natasha spoke about the Accelerating FemTech initiative before speaking from her experience as a Consultant in Pain Medicine at University College London Hospitals and an Expert Adviser to NICE and journals such as BMJ Open. Natasha shared that 40 per cent of women in the UK experience pain and up to 25 per cent of female population have pelvic pain.

Dr Amy Bonsall is a Gender Fellow at Royal Holloway University and joined the webinar panel to talk about her experience of living with endometriosis. Amy shared her experience of living with pain throughout her young-adult life and her difficulties in accessing care, with many healthcare professionals dismissing her symptoms. She also discussed the challenges that FemTech innovators faces and the importance of using technology to give power back to women.

Dr Naomi Tyrell and Isabelle Fielding spoke about evaluation, impact and real-world validation in developing FemTech.

Naomi is the Founder and Managing Director of Research Your Way and Isabelle is an accredited coach, trainer, psychologist and business owner. They gave an overview of the questions FemTech innovators should ask when evaluating impact, the theory of change process and systematic data analysis.

Isabelle described how they used these methods in evaluating the Balance App – a perimenopause and menopause tracking and information app. This evaluation looked at introducing the app into clinical care pathways, exploring feasibility and practicalities of using the balance app in real-world settings and understanding the wider context of potential app users and the challenges they face in managing their symptoms and accessing good quality care.

If you found these clips interesting, be sure to sign up to attend upcoming Accelerating FemTech webinar on how FemTech can help reduce inequalities in maternity care. You can also express an interested in attending our in-person Accelerating FemTech events happening in Manchester, London and East Midlands.

Applications are also open to Accelerating FemTech: Accelerate, a 10-week support programme is for small / medium-sized companies (SMEs) from across the UK, that have early-stage innovations addressing current challenges in women’s health.

The second webinar in the Accelerating FemTech: Inspire series was hosted by Kent Surrey Sussex Academic Health Science Network (KSS AHSN) and was on the topic of using a gender equity lens to innovate in women’s mental health and menopause.

Following an introduction to the Accelerating FemTech programme, Dr Maryann Ferreux, Medical Director for KSS AHSN and host of the webinar, began by introducing the KSS strategy for women’s health and their vision to reduce health inequalities for women, by ensuring all women have access to the best quality health and care.

Maryann then introduced Dr Sam Fraser, Implementation Lead for Primary and Community Care for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) for Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Sam introduced the biopsychosocial model of causality for mental illness and how this relates to the five stages of womanhood. She highlighted the importance of mental health interventions for every life stage and how co-design with diverse groups is vital.

Sylvia Stevenson the spoke about menopause and inspiring innovations to think about new products through diversity of thought. Sylvia is Head of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) Development at IC24. Sylvia set the scene by sharing several menopause statistics including:

• There are 13 million peri or post menopausal in the UK
• There are more than 30 recognised symptoms of menopause
• Symptoms can last on average 4-8 years
• 44% of women experienced 3 or more severe symptoms

She also highlighted the importance of looking at innovation in menopause with an intersectional lens, taking into account the current lack of representation and potential for algorithmic bias in AI solutions. She finished by highlighting the five menopause-related issues she thinks developers should consider and a call to action for innovators to focus on solutions in this space.

If you found these clips interesting, be sure to sign up to attend upcoming Accelerating FemTech webinar on how FemTech can help reduce inequalities in maternity care. You can also express an interested in attending our in-person Accelerating FemTech events happening in Manchester, London and East Midlands.

Applications are also open to Accelerating FemTech: Accelerate, a 10-week support programme is for small / medium-sized companies (SMEs) from across the UK, that have early-stage innovations addressing current challenges in women’s health.