In clinics across the world, the speculum, a fundamental tool for women’s healthcare, has remained largely unchanged since its development in the 19th century. For Hege Hansen, a midwife with over 20 years of clinical experience, and Dr. Stine Andreasen, a gynecologist and PhD in Obstetrics, this lack of innovation in essential medical tools – from speculums to labor induction catheters –…
BillionToOne has announced that its UNITY Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT) for fetal antigens is being adopted by Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) doctors in maternity health deserts, providing an alternative to weekly Doppler ultrasounds for high-risk pregnancies. The UNITY Fetal Antigen NIPT screens patients who are alloimmunized to certain antigens for hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN), a blood disorder where a…
Irish medical device company Nua Surgical has secured €6.5 million in Series A funding led by EQT Life Sciences, with participation from Kidron Capital, Texas Medical Center Venture Fund, and existing investors including Enterprise Ireland. The funding will support regulatory clearance and early commercialization of SteriCISION, the first self-retaining retractor specifically designed for Caesarean section surgeries. With over 30 million C-sections performed…
Rallybio has received approval to begin testing a preventive treatment for a rare but serious pregnancy complication that affects mothers and their unborn babies. The condition, known as fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT), occurs when a pregnant woman’s immune system attacks her baby’s platelets, potentially causing dangerous bleeding in the fetus or newborn. The company will begin Phase 2 clinical trials…
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced the winners of its $8 million RADx Tech for Maternal Health Challenge, selecting eight teams from more than 80 submissions to advance postpartum maternal health diagnostics. The competition focused on developing technologies for regions with limited maternity care access, targeting the critical period when most maternal deaths occur—up to one year after delivery or…
Babyscripts, a virtual maternity care program, and Lyft have reported success in addressing maternity care transportation issues in Washington D.C. through their collaboration. The partnership provides free rides to maternity care appointments for D.C.’s pregnant population. The collaboration has shown promising results, with 71 percent of patients identifying as transportation insecure claiming the free Lyft benefit through Babyscripts’ myJourney app. Users have…
Medtech company INNITIUS has announced promising results from its FineBirth Clinical Trial-1 (FB-CT1) for its novel Fine Birth device, designed to improve the diagnosis of threatened preterm labor (TPTL). Preterm birth, occurring in approximately 500,000 cases annually in the EU alone, is a critical public health issue responsible for over 1 million deaths each year globally. It remains the leading cause of…
Almond, a tech-enabled OBGYN practice in Los Angeles, is set to introduce its Group Pregnancy Care service. This launch aims to improve maternal health outcomes amidst the ongoing maternal mortality crisis in the United States, which has the highest rate of maternal mortality among high-income nations. The new Group Pregnancy Care model offers a collaborative approach to prenatal care, which has been…
