Slide Slider02 FemTech Summit 02-03 JUNE, 2022 Hybrid Event Sign Up for Updates

Why

Attend

To discuss, discover and ideate about:

The link between gender and effective therapy in medicine

 Bridging the missing data gap

Innovative Screening + Symptom Monitoring  

Personalising contraception + fertility

The Future of pain + symptom management in gynaecology 

01
History

Throughout history women have been considered ‘aberrations’ from the norm, rather than a crucial and vital part of the population to be included in medical trials and long-term studies.

02
Participants

Women of reproductive age were often excluded out of the fear that menstrual cycles and changes in hormones could pose unnecessary complications and act as unpredictable variables.

03
Data

This has resulted in missing data sets and a lack of understanding, diagnosis and treatment of many gynecological conditions that impact large swaths of the female population, as well as unwanted pharmaceutical side effects for non-gynecological diseases, delays in care, underdiagnoses or undertreatment.

04
Future

However – be it by wearables, mobile apps, home testing devices or kits – this is beginning to change, with the emergence of companies beginning to collect large amounts of new data, conduct subsequent research studies and develop new means of treatment.

Participate

Are you a University Student? Interested in FemTech and the Challenges facing the field of Women’s Health – then you (and a team of your friends) should get together to solve one of the 5 following Challenges. The most innovative solutions will get to present at the Summit and be eligible to win the prizes attached to each Challenge

Past

Schedule (2021)
Day 1
Day 2
Day 1
May 26, 2021
3:45 pm

Opening Remarks

Dr. Vera Regitz-Zagrosek is a Cardiologist and Founder, Institute of Gender in Medicine at Charité Berlin and of the International Society Gender Medicine (IGM)
Dr. med. h.c. Vera Regitz-Zagrosek
26 May
Time:  3:45 pm - 4:00 pm
Location:  Dr. Vera Regitz-Zagrosek is a Cardiologist and Founder, Institute of Gender in Medicine at Charité Berlin and of the International Society Gender Medicine (IGM)
Speaker:  Dr. med. h.c. Vera Regitz-Zagrosek
4:00 pm

RoundTable: Innovative Screening +Tracking Technologies

One of the largest innovations in the medical sphere has been changing the point of Care for Patients … giving the patients themselves access to the knowledge and tools needed to monitor their conditions remotely and have a better understanding of their health. This Panel will explore how certain companies are doing just that for gynecological issues: .... Leon A. Boston, CEO of Mobile ODT: using artificial intelligence for cervical screening, evaluation, and sexual assault forensics......... Siew-Veena, Founder of Testmate Health: at home STD Kits....... Dr. Sonali Mohanty Quantius, Founder of Haplomind: supporting perinatal depression and anxiety.
Leon A. BostonDr. Sonali Mohanty Quantius
26 May
Time:  4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Location:  One of the largest innovations in the medical sphere has been changing the point of Care for Patients … giving the patients themselves access to the knowledge and tools needed to monitor their conditions remotely and have a better understanding of their health. This Panel will explore how certain companies are doing just that for gynecological issues: .... Leon A. Boston, CEO of Mobile ODT: using artificial intelligence for cervical screening, evaluation, and sexual assault forensics......... Siew-Veena, Founder of Testmate Health: at home STD Kits....... Dr. Sonali Mohanty Quantius, Founder of Haplomind: supporting perinatal depression and anxiety.
Speaker:  Leon A. BostonDr. Sonali Mohanty Quantius
5:45 pm

RoundTable: Gathering Female Specific Data by Innovative Means

This session will cover the innovative ways companies are going about collecting gender specific data in order to: close the data gap and have a better understanding of female specific metrics; ....Eric Dy, CEO + Co-Founder of Bloom Life: remote personalised maternal and fetal healthcare....... Marina Pavlovic Rivas, CEO + Co-Founder of Eli Health: a product monitoring hormones in saliva at home to enable women to make informed decisions about their reproductive and general health........ Dr. Shruthi Mahalingaiah, Principle Investigator on the Apple Women’s Health Study: the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has teamed up with Apple and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to gain a deeper understanding of how certain demographic and lifestyle factors could have an impact on menstrual cycles and gynecologic conditions.................... Laura Symul, Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford, whose research focuses on women’s health and menstrual health, using a combination of self-tracked data from mobile phone apps and devices and clinical multi-omics data.
Eric DySarah KerruishMarina Pavlovic RivasLaura Symul
26 May
Time:  5:45 pm - 7:15 pm
Location:  This session will cover the innovative ways companies are going about collecting gender specific data in order to: close the data gap and have a better understanding of female specific metrics; ....Eric Dy, CEO + Co-Founder of Bloom Life: remote personalised maternal and fetal healthcare....... Marina Pavlovic Rivas, CEO + Co-Founder of Eli Health: a product monitoring hormones in saliva at home to enable women to make informed decisions about their reproductive and general health........ Dr. Shruthi Mahalingaiah, Principle Investigator on the Apple Women’s Health Study: the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has teamed up with Apple and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to gain a deeper understanding of how certain demographic and lifestyle factors could have an impact on menstrual cycles and gynecologic conditions.................... Laura Symul, Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford, whose research focuses on women’s health and menstrual health, using a combination of self-tracked data from mobile phone apps and devices and clinical multi-omics data.
Speaker:  Eric DySarah KerruishMarina Pavlovic RivasLaura Symul
7:15 pm

Closing Remarks

Dr. Carole Clair specialises in the differences in clinical management induced by the gender of patients. She is also co-head of the department of training, research and innovation at the Center of general medicine and public health. She is a doctor who graduated from the University of Lausanne, FMH specialist in general internal medicine, Master in Science in Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health.
Dr. Carole Clair
26 May
Time:  7:15 pm - 12:00 am
Location:  Dr. Carole Clair specialises in the differences in clinical management induced by the gender of patients. She is also co-head of the department of training, research and innovation at the Center of general medicine and public health. She is a doctor who graduated from the University of Lausanne, FMH specialist in general internal medicine, Master in Science in Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health.
Speaker:  Dr. Carole Clair
7:30 pm

FemTech Summit Virtual Mingling

Connect w/ other attendees to discuss what you've listened to, learned + what other innovations you think are needed in the field of FemTech. Need an Ice-Breaker? How about discussing the way YOU think women w/ gynaecological conditions could best be matched to the appropriate care.
26 May
Time:  7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Location:  Connect w/ other attendees to discuss what you've listened to, learned + what other innovations you think are needed in the field of FemTech. Need an Ice-Breaker? How about discussing the way YOU think women w/ gynaecological conditions could best be matched to the appropriate care.
Day 2
May 27, 2021
4:45 pm

Opening Remarks

Dr. Brigitte Leeners, Director of the Clinic for Reproductive Endocrinology at the University Hospital Zurich who will speak about what the daily life of a patient that comes to her looks like/ the issues they face and how innovative technologies can help with treatment/ facilitate their daily life
Dr. Brigitte Leeners
27 May
Time:  4:45 pm - 5:00 pm
Location:  Dr. Brigitte Leeners, Director of the Clinic for Reproductive Endocrinology at the University Hospital Zurich who will speak about what the daily life of a patient that comes to her looks like/ the issues they face and how innovative technologies can help with treatment/ facilitate their daily life
Speaker:  Dr. Brigitte Leeners
5:00 pm

RoundTable: The future of Contraception and Fertility

The field of Fertility and Contraception has long been opaque and difficult to navigate, not mention a field rife with unpleasant and unforeseen Side Effects. Medicine as a whole, however, is entering an era of personalization – this panel will explore in what ways this will revolutionize female contraception (is it impossible to envision a future where female contraception is more specifically tailored to the user?) and fertility....... Pascal Koenig, CEO + Co-Founder of AVA: a bracelet that tracks multiple physiological parameters, including pulse rate, breathing rate, and temperature in order to detect the five most fertile days of a woman’s cycle in real time, while also delivering personalized insight about reproductive health and pregnancy .........Frederik Petursson Madsen, CEO + Co-Founder of Oui: a new approach to contraception that works by topically engineering the cervical mucus to provide effective contraception with minimal side-effects....... Dr. Lynae Brayboy, Chief Medical Officer of Clue: an FDA approved menstrual tracking app........ Eirini Rapti, CEO + Founder of Inne: which uses the hormones found in saliva to determine a woman’s most fertile window thus acting as both a fertility aid or a form of contraception
Eirini RaptiDr. Lynae BrayboyFrederik Petursson MadsenPascal Koenig
27 May
Time:  5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Location:  The field of Fertility and Contraception has long been opaque and difficult to navigate, not mention a field rife with unpleasant and unforeseen Side Effects. Medicine as a whole, however, is entering an era of personalization – this panel will explore in what ways this will revolutionize female contraception (is it impossible to envision a future where female contraception is more specifically tailored to the user?) and fertility....... Pascal Koenig, CEO + Co-Founder of AVA: a bracelet that tracks multiple physiological parameters, including pulse rate, breathing rate, and temperature in order to detect the five most fertile days of a woman’s cycle in real time, while also delivering personalized insight about reproductive health and pregnancy .........Frederik Petursson Madsen, CEO + Co-Founder of Oui: a new approach to contraception that works by topically engineering the cervical mucus to provide effective contraception with minimal side-effects....... Dr. Lynae Brayboy, Chief Medical Officer of Clue: an FDA approved menstrual tracking app........ Eirini Rapti, CEO + Founder of Inne: which uses the hormones found in saliva to determine a woman’s most fertile window thus acting as both a fertility aid or a form of contraception
Speaker:  Eirini RaptiDr. Lynae BrayboyFrederik Petursson MadsenPascal Koenig
6:45 pm

RoundTable: Pain and Symptom Management

From as far back as Ancient Egypt medicine has been rife with recorded descriptions of gynecological conditions and the physiological pain they cause. In fact, ancient Egypt has the first recorded use of the term ‘wandering uterus’ – but it was not until ancient Greece and then Rome after it that the term ‘hysteria’ was coined, often used to dismiss a vast array of symptoms exhibited by women, attributed to their physiological abnormalities. And yet a disturbing lack of innovation to help track, manage and perhaps even cure the pain caused by gynecological conditions has been historically achieved – until today. In this panel we explore the innovative technologies being put forth to treat gynecological conditions: from pre-empting menopausal symptoms, to treating endometriosis with cannaboids to the all importance of tracking the symptoms to help manage them......Alexandra Alvergne; an Oxford Fellow and CNRS researcher whose research focuses on understanding the relationship between reproduction and female health, including working on contraceptive dynamics, infection and menstrual health, diversity in age at menopause and the impact of reproduction on ageing......... Dr, Sari Prutchi Sagiv, VP of R&D at Gynica : a medical company researching and developing cannabinoid solutions to target gynaecological symptoms and diseases......... Cécile Real, Co-Founder + CEO of EndoDiag: company developing new endometriosis diagnostic solutions for healthcare professionals. These solutions are intended to contribute to a better endometriosis diagnosis, a more personalized patient management, more efficient treatment options and fertility strategy.......... Chantelle Bell & Anya Roy, Co-Founders of Syrona Health : a startup that tracks endo and health symptoms, and allows users to access a community of patients with similar symptoms as well as providing doctor approved insights.
Chantelle BellCécile RealAlexandra AlvergneDr. Sari Prutchi SagivAnya Roy
27 May
Time:  6:45 pm - 8:15 pm
Location:  From as far back as Ancient Egypt medicine has been rife with recorded descriptions of gynecological conditions and the physiological pain they cause. In fact, ancient Egypt has the first recorded use of the term ‘wandering uterus’ – but it was not until ancient Greece and then Rome after it that the term ‘hysteria’ was coined, often used to dismiss a vast array of symptoms exhibited by women, attributed to their physiological abnormalities. And yet a disturbing lack of innovation to help track, manage and perhaps even cure the pain caused by gynecological conditions has been historically achieved – until today. In this panel we explore the innovative technologies being put forth to treat gynecological conditions: from pre-empting menopausal symptoms, to treating endometriosis with cannaboids to the all importance of tracking the symptoms to help manage them......Alexandra Alvergne; an Oxford Fellow and CNRS researcher whose research focuses on understanding the relationship between reproduction and female health, including working on contraceptive dynamics, infection and menstrual health, diversity in age at menopause and the impact of reproduction on ageing......... Dr, Sari Prutchi Sagiv, VP of R&D at Gynica : a medical company researching and developing cannabinoid solutions to target gynaecological symptoms and diseases......... Cécile Real, Co-Founder + CEO of EndoDiag: company developing new endometriosis diagnostic solutions for healthcare professionals. These solutions are intended to contribute to a better endometriosis diagnosis, a more personalized patient management, more efficient treatment options and fertility strategy.......... Chantelle Bell & Anya Roy, Co-Founders of Syrona Health : a startup that tracks endo and health symptoms, and allows users to access a community of patients with similar symptoms as well as providing doctor approved insights.
Speaker:  Chantelle BellCécile RealAlexandra AlvergneDr. Sari Prutchi SagivAnya Roy
8:15 pm

Closing Remarks

The Rector of ETH Zurich will deliver the closing remarks to the ETH Zurich FemTech Summit
Prof. Sarah Springman
27 May
Time:  8:15 pm - 8:30 pm
Location:  The Rector of ETH Zurich will deliver the closing remarks to the ETH Zurich FemTech Summit
Speaker:  Prof. Sarah Springman
8:30 pm

FemTech Summit Virtual Mingling

Connect w/ other attendees to discuss what you listened to + learned today. Need an Ice-Breaker? Try coming up with what YOU think the biggest data set missing for female health is + how you think one might go about finding it.
27 May
Time:  8:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Location:  Connect w/ other attendees to discuss what you listened to + learned today. Need an Ice-Breaker? Try coming up with what YOU think the biggest data set missing for female health is + how you think one might go about finding it.

2021 Speakers

Get a 360-degree perspective from researchers, innovators and tech entrepreneurs about the challenges and solutions emerging in the field of FemTech

Dr. Carole Clair

Associate Professor and Co-head of Research and Innovation Training Department, UniSanté

Alexandra Alvergne

CNRS Research Fellow (Institute for Evolutionary Sciences, Montpellier University)

Laura Symul

Postdoctoral Fellow Statistics, Stanford University

Sponsors

Amplification Partners

Notice Board

Upcoming FemTech Event

Tech4Eva

Are you a startup developing solutions in the area of prevention and wellness? Are you a corporate or expert working in this area? Do you want to spend the next 6 months co-creating joint solutions together through an open innovation approach, learn collaboration tools and meet top industry experts? And all of it completely free of charge? Join the Tech4Eva Prevention & Wellness Focus Group! The objective of the Focus Groups in the Tech4Eva program is to foster collaborations between startups, experts and corporates.

Calling all Students

Health Ambassador for Nabla

Nabla is looking for Health Ambassadors! Nabla Health Ambassadors are leaders supporting grassroots marketing, events, partnerships, and content creation to grow awareness for Nabla as a mission-driven health platform and brand. Reach out to alexm@nabla.com for more details.

To be Announced Soon... contact@femtechnology.org

FemTech Challenge

At the 2021 ETH Zurich FemTech summit we outlined some of the problems facing women's health, and touched upon some of the solutions ... but the work is far from over. That's why we need YOU! If you're interested in participating or finding out more reach out to contact@femtechnology.org

Rewatch the 2021 FemTech Summit...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aDF9niqcsE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcyDG6m4Gck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kjEDaOGIeI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp57al3EU60

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM6XQGIhmK8

Why we need FemTech
1/3 of women In the UK will suffer from a reproductive or gynaecological problem - yet only 2.5% of publicly funded research is consecrated to reproductive health research
Why we need Inclusive Research
8 out of 10 drugs withdrawn from the US market between 1997 and 2000 were banned because of side effects occurring exclusively in women
The Cost
The Yearly Economic burden of female health is an estimated 500 billion. Yet only an estimated 4% is devoted to research and development for healthcare issues facing the female population.
The Problem Goes beyond reproductive Health
Women face: 5x more mental health issues than men, have 3x as many heart attacks and are 7x more vulnerable to autoimmune disease

About the Summit

During the Reproduction Module held in the 3rd year of medicine at ETH Zurich, I was shocked to find out that women of reproductive age were still often excluded from clinical trials out of the fear that menstrual cycles and hormonal fluctuations would act as ‘unnecessary’  and unpredictable variables. 

I was equally disturbed to learn that gynaecological conditions affecting large swaths of the female population (such as Endometriosis, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Hyperandrogenism, Menstruation and even something as simple as the side-effects of the pill) not only had no effective therapy to date, but are poorly understood with little research conducted on the matter. 

Wanting to find out more about how these issues were being tackled, I was thrilled to discover the situation is beginning to change, not only from  the perspective of research, but that an entire burgeoning industry is being forged with startups founded on the premise of being able to better deliver the care to patients who sorely need it.  

And so the ETH Zurich FemTech Summit was organised: to not only introduce others to these issues and the exciting research, but to help people connect about the topic, spread the word and deepen the work.

As a leading international academic institution at the cutting edge of health sciences and technology, the aim of the Department of Health Sciences and Technology (D-​HEST) is to create the foundations for sustaining and improving the quality of life for people into old age. The Department of Health Sciences and Technology accelerates the transfer of knowledge and technology in clinics, industry and society, and educates a new generation of students at the interface of science, technology, and medicine.

ETHZ Human Medicine: The path via ETH Zurich (for the Bachelor’s degree) and one of its partner universities (for the Master’s degree) lays the foundations for an education in human medicine that will go on to open up opportunities for exchange with the world of science and pave the way towards new developments and technologies. Tackling methods used in the world today, for instance in the areas of personalised medicine and medical engineering, provides a greater understanding of the opportunities and limitations of future treatment methods.

Women at the Table,  founded and based in International Geneva, is the first Civil Society Organization to focus on feminist systems change by exercising leverage points in the key sectors of technology, the economy, sustainability and democratic governance. We accomplish this  by using the prism of technology, innovation & AI.  

Co-founders of the <A+> Alliance for Inclusive Algorithms, we focus on correcting algorithmic bias. This bias is notably present in medical research and outcomes which is why we are proud to co-sponsor the first ETHZ FemTech Summit.   

We are leadership of the UN Women Generation Equality Forum Action Coalition for Technology & Innovation for Gender Equality. 

Confronted with the fact that there is so little understanding of the range of gynecological syndromes (that I myself knew so little about prior to a Reproduction module),  and understanding that historically there have been few therapeutic solutions proposed for Endometriosis, PCOS, contraception, fertility, or Menopause given the impact on a massive cohort of female patients,  I was heartened to learn that there are so many cutting edge startups and innovative research projects exploding onto the global stage.

Happily, at ETH Zurich there is an opportunity to do a research project as a closing chapter to the Bachelor’s in medicine. This has been an extraordinary opportunity to liaise with and explore the work of researchers and companies based all over the world. 

I love writing and producing with all the research, curation, and technological aspects needed for the work, so it’s been a delight to focus these past months on pulling together everything from the concept note to research and speaker outreach, overall curation and moderation.

 

PODCASTS: 

–> About the Summit <–

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/how-technology-can-help-with-perinatal-depression/46636416

https://femtechinsider.com/femtechnology-femtech-summit-interview-oriana-kraft/

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3kBEnPmV5pTLbbziyF3riw?si=L8NNgz_7RT6fKdIqNEQm2g&dl_branch=1

https://rss.com/podcasts/epfelles/

–> About Hormones + Female Health <–

 https://helloclue.com/podcast/hormonal-podcast-clue

ARTICLES:

–> About our Panelists <– 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/07/health/femtech-women-health-care.html

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/how-an-app-is-helping-women-self-diagnose-perinatal-depression/46515038

https://www.20minutes.fr/sante/2026871-20170310-bientot-solution-faciliter-diagnostic-endometriose

https://www.letemps.ch/societe/carole-clair-une-vocation-legalite

https://www.letemps.ch/societe/laura-symul-un-oeil-regles-jouent-un-role-crucial-survie-espece

Event

Location
The Venue

Remote - so that anyone can attend from anywhere!

Zoom Town. You can join from your living room. Just follow the directions to Zoom town.

Address

123 Zoom Street
Zoom Village, MD 20886

Booking

+(844) – 1500 333 888

Email us

hello@femtechnology.org

Register now

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