New program supports femtech entrepreneurs

© www.womens.health/ - Thirty startups have raised CHF 60 million in funding through Tech4Eva, continental Europe's first program designed specifically for entrepreneurs in the field of femtech, or technology for women's health. On 7 December, Switzerland's first femtech conference will mark the end of Tech4Eva's inaugural year - and kick off the next funding round. Many men, and nearly just as many women, don't know what a tenaculum is. It's an instrument used by gynecologists to grasp and hold the cervix during procedures such as IUD insertion; it resembles a long pair of scissors with sharp-pointed hooks at the end. Tenacula are used frequently - some 80 million times a year worldwide - and without anesthesia. Although they can be painful and cause bleeding or even perforation of the cervix, the design has not changed since the instrument was invented in the late 19th century. This latter fact should not be so surprising, as only 4% of research spending on healthcare is devoted to the many medical concerns specific to women (such as pregnancy, menstruation, contraception, fertility, menopause, and certain types of cancer and mental-health issues).