The role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the health sector is expanding, aiming to bring personalised healthcare to a broader audience. In the realm of femtech (the term used to define software and services that use technology tailored towards women’s health), AI’s significance is particularly pronounced.
Earlier this year, women’s health app, Flo Health, became Europe’s first femtech unicorn. Flo is an AI-powered period tracking app that uses machine learning and data-powered algorithms to recognise patterns and symptoms customised to individual users. By identifying patterns, the app aims to help women better understand their bodies, especially when it comes to ovulation, menstruation, pregnancy, and serious medical conditions.
HOW IMPORTANT IS THE COLLECTION OF DATA TO FEMTECH?
One of the standout features of femtech is the ease with which data can be regularly inputted by individuals, either through apps or wearable technology.
This is crucial because topics like menstruation and fertility have traditionally been taboo. Many women may still feel uncomfortable discussing these subjects but are more at ease entering such information into an app on their phone.
There are certain legal issues associated with the collection of data and the use of AI.
Under the GDPR, collection of data constitutes data processing and, therefore, triggers certain compliance obligations. The general principles of GDPR also apply to AI. As a minimum, the GDPR processors should tell individuals what information they hold about such individuals and how it is being used.
What is more, the use of AI can have copyright and trade mark implications both in the input (training) data and in the output. This is still a developing area of law where case law is only starting to emerge.
USING AI TO TRACK AND BETTER UNDERSTAND SYMPTOMS
Tracking symptoms throughout the month and presenting them coherently to healthcare professionals can be challenging. Even on an individual level, summarising and spotting trends in symptoms over a monthly cycle can be difficult. AI aims to address these issues.
By inputting small amounts of information on a semi-regular basis, these technologies can measure and track not just menstrual cycles but also things like stress levels, weight, and hormonal changes, which can also fluctuate through the menstrual cycle. This data isn’t just beneficial for the individual but also for entire populations of women. Data sets can be further broken down to reveal trends among different age groups, ethnicities, and locations.
Understanding these trends can massively help women understand why they might be experiencing certain symptoms and enable the provision of bespoke recommendations to alleviate or even avoid specific symptoms. This wealth of data can help rebalance the historical under-research of female health concerns.
CAN AI HELP OVERCOME THE HISTORICAL EXCLUSION OF WOMEN FROM CLINICAL TRIALS?
Women have often been excluded from clinical trials due to hormonal fluctuations. However, the rate at which AI is being adopted by traditional pharmaceutical and therapeutic companies looks set to help redress this paradigm.
Using AI can instantly analyse a wealth of clinical data to identify gender disparities in both participant selection and outcomes so that women’s health is properly considered. AI’s modelling capabilities can also predict how different genders are likely to respond to treatments, which again enables companies to adopt more targeted drug development and, by extension, design more inclusive trial samples.
AI can also help companies design trials that focus on different sex-specific conditions, for example reproductive health, and tailor potential treatment applications to a woman’s unique biological responses, enabling their participation in a trial to make a valuable contribution to the research and its future application to improving women’s health.
In summary, AI and data collection in femtech are revolutionising women’s healthcare by expediting more personalised care and addressing long-standing research gaps. However, in order to maximise the potential, impact, and value of these inventions, innovators need to be able to call on support from cross-disciplinary teams that understand how the digital and therapeutic elements combine to provide effective solutions.
This is where we can help.
We know exactly what it takes to support a new digitally-based femtech product. We will put together a team combining patent attorneys having direct experience of disease, treatment, pharmacology, software, and data analysis with IP solicitors who understand how to navigate the very specific legal, data, and regulatory issues you’re likely to encounter.
You can find out more about our unique multi-disciplinary approach to digital healthcare in this white paper, or you can contact us today to arrange a first, free IP consultation to explore the best way to maximise the value and impact of your innovation.
