Impli, a London-based deep-tech company developing the first continuous molecular monitoring platform for hormonal health, has been awarded a £1.4 million grant from the NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) programme to advance its BEAM (Bio-Endocrine Analysis Monitor) biosensing patch through clinical validation for use in IVF.
The 30-month programme brings together Impli, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (including the Wolfson Fertility Centre), King’s College London, patient advocacy network Fertility Europe, and specialist manufacturer TTP. It will fund final device design and manufacturing to ISO 13485 standards, a 25-participant pilot study, AI model development, and regulatory groundwork for NHS adoption.
BEAM is a biocompatible microneedle patch worn on the upper arm that continuously measures estradiol, LH, and progesterone in interstitial fluid using aptamer-based electrochemical biosensors, transmitting data wirelessly to a smartphone where AI converts raw signals into real-time hormone trends.
The clinical problem it addresses: IVF success rates remain between 15-32%, yet clinicians are making time-critical dosing and timing decisions based on hormone values that may be 24-48 hours old. Critical events – LH surges that determine egg release, progesterone dips that cause implantation failure, early signs of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome – are routinely missed by single-point blood tests. Each IVF cycle currently demands up to 10 clinic visits for blood draws. BEAM could reduce that to as few as two.
“We are not just building a device, we are building the evidence base to show that continuous hormone monitoring is possible, clinically meaningful, and ready for the real world,” said founder and CEO Anna Luisa Schaffgotsch.
Impli has an established strategic partnership with Bayer on real-time hormone biosensing and has completed three functional prototypes, in vitro pre-clinical trials, and animal trials with positive results. The technology builds on over 15 years of foundational biosensor research at Imperial College London, with patents filed across 14+ countries.
IVF is Impli’s deliberate entry point, but the same platform is designed for expansion across PCOS, endometriosis, menopause, hormonally driven cancers, and broader endocrinology.
