(Screenshot from www.trackmyflow.com)
Tampons are the latest product to go high-tech with startup my.Flow touting what it describes as the world’s first tampon monitor.
“We are developing a tampon monitor that notifies you when your tampon is full and should thus be changed,” explains my.Flow, on its website. “When the monitor senses full saturation, a notification will be sent to your phone via our Bluetooth-enabled belt clip, so that you never have to risk an accident or, even worse, infection, again.”
The technology works by using a tampon with a long string, which is connected to a small monitor device. The monitor can be clipped to the user’s waistband or underwear and slides onto a key chain for easy storage when not in use.
Related: Get 'bionic hearing' with new smart earbuds
Tampon data is sent via Bluetooth from the monitor to an app on the user’s smartphone, which can be customized to provide alerts depending on the tampon’s saturation level. The app also provides period monitoring statistics, according to my.Flow.
The original concept reportedly used a Bluetooth module within the tampon itself, but the startup instead opted for the latest version.
In a YouTube video, my.Flow co-founder and CEO Amanda Brief says that the company is “looking to obliterate period anxiety.”
Related: MIT researcher's artificial skin will make you look 10 years younger
The project, which is seeking funding, is expected to release its product in 2017, according to Mashable.
Gizmodo reports that the Bluetooth-enabled monitor is expected to retail for around $50, with a month’s supply of tampons that work with the monitor expected to retail for about $13.
Get a daily look at what’s developing in science and technology throughout the world.