Based mostly in Dublin, this femtech has developed an app to ‘make intervals seen, measurable and brought significantly’.
Justyna Strzeszynska’s entrepreneurial roots had been initially impressed by one thing that impacts about half the world’s inhabitants – menstrual well being.
For years, Strzeszynska was annoyed along with her interval and the way menstrual well being is usually ignored or minimised, so in 2019, she determined she was going create a product that made menstrual administration that bit simpler.
Joii, our newest Begin-up of the Week, is an AI-powered menstrual well being app that lets customers scan their interval pad to measure blood quantity and clot sizes to achieve well being insights.
“There’s an enormous hole between how intervals are skilled and the way they’re clinically understood, particularly in diagnosing power circumstances,” says Strzeszynska. “Joii bridges that hole with tech that makes intervals seen, measurable and brought significantly.
“Paired with our Analysis Pads, the Joii app empowers folks to trace their circulate with accuracy, advocate for his or her well being, and cease guessing what’s ‘regular’.”
The tech
To carry Joii to life, Strzeszynska – who can be the CEO – has collaborated with medical advisors, researchers and engineers with the purpose of offering actionable menstrual well being information.
The Dublin-based firm is focusing on the worldwide girls’s well being market, with a right away concentrate on menstruators coping with heavy intervals, undiagnosed circumstances corresponding to endometriosis or fibroids, and “those that need greater than obscure monitoring apps”, in response to Strzeszynska.
However how does it work?
As Strzeszynska explains to SiliconRepublic.com, the Joii app makes use of pc imaginative and prescient and machine studying to analyse a photograph of a used interval pad and estimate the amount of blood current.
“We skilled our AI mannequin utilizing lab-based simulations and real-world testing, making certain the tech works below assorted lighting and pad utilization circumstances,” she says. “Customers obtain an instantaneous report displaying quantity in ml, common circulate, clot dimension and symptom tendencies.”
The beginning-up’s product is presently CE-marked as a Class I medical system within the UK, and the staff is now engaged on validating its scientific use with tutorial companions.
As for the pads themselves, they’re created from “eco-considerate supplies” and recyclable packaging.
“We imagine folks deserve interval care that works for his or her our bodies and their values,” says Strzeszynska. “That’s why we’re additionally growing reusable and flushable codecs, so customers can select what’s proper for them.”
In the end, the corporate’s purpose is to “make menstrual blood a recognised very important signal, one thing that’s trackable, measurable and significant”.
“We would like Joii to grow to be the go-to instrument for anybody experiencing interval signs and a trusted useful resource for clinicians who want goal, cycle-linked information to help prognosis and care.”
The way it’s going
Since its launch, Joii has been making progress in getting its title out.
The app has soft-launched in Eire, with its pads stocked in additional than 30 places together with Evergreen, Meaghers, Molloys Pharmacy and Nourish, whereas the app is presently obtainable on iOS and Android.
The beginning-up has accomplished a real-world analysis research and is presently collaborating with universities on its subsequent scientific trials. “We’ve stored the core staff lean however mighty and we’re rising as we scale up each retail and analysis exercise,” says Strzeszynska.
When it comes to funding, the start-up is making ready for its subsequent increase, which can help its UK enlargement, construct out its product options – together with predictive instruments for endometriosis, fibroids and anemia, in response to Strzeszynska – and fund the following stage of scientific validation.
The corporate can be exploring strategic partnerships with well being methods and femtech platforms.
However whereas there’s been no scarcity of achievements, Strzeszynska highlights the challenges that may come up when establishing a femtech start-up.
“Navigating medical system regulation as a start-up was a steep studying curve,” she says. “Fundraising in femtech additionally comes with its challenges: you must clarify not simply your product, however the issue it solves, typically to traders who’ve by no means skilled it.
“However we’ve turned that into a chance to coach, disrupt and push the dialog ahead.”
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