In 2022, greater than 2 million babies died in the primary 20 days of their lives, accounting for about 6,500 deaths per day. in keeping with the World Health Organization.
Additionally, nearly 800 women died day by day in 2020 from “preventable causes” while pregnant or childbirth, an “unacceptably high” number, says the WHO.
A Singapore-based startup, Biorithm, hopes to assist solve the issue with a tool that enables women to watch their pregnancy at home, while a connected mobile app transmits information resembling the infant's heart rate on to doctors for review.
“Women’s Health [care] is designed to treat sick women, not stay healthy,” said Amrish Nair, chief technology officer and co-founder of Biorithm.
“We're trying to provide technology that puts the power back in the hands of women… It's no longer about the hospital, but about women having the opportunity to be treated at the place of their choice,” he told CNBC “CNBC Tech: The Edge.”
Biorithm's device, Femom, monitors each maternal and fetal heart rates and is designed to be easy to make use of, using the girl's navel as a guide for precise placement. It might be used during labor and provides doctors with information for intervention when needed.
According to Sihem Tedjar, product development manager at Biorithm, monitoring takes about 20 to half-hour.
“It’s very easy to use for an untrained person or a non-health care professional, and that’s where the ease of use and all the design work lies,” Tedjar said. Femom's five electrodes detect electrical signals on the surface of the abdomen and transmit information to a dashboard that medical staff can access.
“This device response[s] “A very basic question for every parent: How well is my baby doing?” said Dr. Thiam Chye Tan, a startup mentor at Biorithm.
A “breakdown of maternal care”
Nair said in a web based publication that there had been a “breakdown in maternal care” resulting from socioeconomic aspects and a scarcity of monitoring technology.
Almost 95% of maternal deaths in 2020 occurred in low- and middle-income countries. in keeping with WHOand in 2016, it sought to enhance prenatal care and reduce the chance of pregnancy complications through issuance Instructions to extend the variety of contacts a pregnant woman has with healthcare providers from 4 to eight.
According to this, the worldwide marketplace for medical devices is anticipated to grow from $542 billion in 2024 to $887 billion in 2032 Fortune Business Insights. Biorithm was spun out from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and Femom is in development and utilized in clinical research settings.
The Singapore government is investing strong in its healthcare sector and in 2023, Biorithm raised $3.5 million in Series A funding from government agency Enterprise Singapore and Adaptive Capital Partners. The funds will probably be used to develop Femom and expand the corporate within the US and Southeast Asia.
“Women's health has always faced a very difficult funding situation. It has never been the hottest topic in medical technology,” Nair told CNBC.
“From the beginning we had funds that invested in us, and now there are funds run by women who invested in us,” he said.
“We're seeing the funding landscape evolving, and it's really encouraging for women's health. Although much more needs to be done, it is certainly a start,” said Nair.
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