Persperity HealthPersperity Health, a startup developing a wearable to help women manage their fertility and menopause, has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding. The company is developing technology that uses non-invasive sweat analysis, rather than blood analysis, to determine hormone levels.
The startup has created a patented ring-shaped biosensor with sweat-sensing technology invented by co-founder Dr. Wei Gao, which is exclusively licensed from Caltech. Users will not need to undertake a grueling workout session to measure their hormones; instead, a non-invasive process, iontophoresis, is used to make you sweat on demand.
According to Persperity Health, levels of hormones such as estradiol, progesterone, and luteinizing hormone (LH) can all be detected in sweat. The company cites three areas where tracking these hormones would be particularly useful: to spot early signs of hormonal imbalance, to monitor ovulation and improve fertility treatments, and to manage menopausal symptoms.
In its announcement, Persperity Health said the money would be used to “accelerate” the development of its products. On its website, the company lists FreeFlow, Wilson Hill, Caltech, Alma Capital and Merkin Family Office among its investors. It is not yet clear when Persperity Health’s first consumer product might launch.
