The Smart Tampon or Menstruation Alarm

A startup has come with the idea of a smart tampon, a device that lets you know when it’s the time to change your tampon.

Yes, boys and girls, someone has thought about a different kind of “wearable,” one that aims at saving women from tampon related problems; itcoming from keeping it in too long (prevent some cases of toxic shock syndrome) or from having a heavy flow (prevent embarrassing situations).

The smart tampon called my.Flow is Bluetooth connected and notifies the wearer when the product is saturated, and the lady needs to change it.

The tampon connects to a tracking monitor through a six-inch to twelve-inch long string.  The little period tracking gizmo is then strapped to your underwear or waistband and connects to an app on your phone.

The app tracks your monthly periods and you granular ones as well and notifies the user when it’s time to take menstruation related action.

Both the timing notifications and the text alerts can be customized. When you are not monitoring your menstruation flow, you can easily strap the little monitor to a keychain for easy access.

The developers say the app will learn about your cycles and get smarter by the month.

My.Flow cares “to empower women through insight and to obliterate the period anxiety” that according to the founder plagues at least half of the women all over the world at some point in their lives.

The idea for the smart tampon stemmed from a UC Berkeley master-level group project of founder Amanda Brief.

Although the product is not yet available and needs funding, it has already been severely criticized and even ridiculed. Women seem to reject the product saying they don’t need to be told when to change their tampons, it’s something they’ve been doing for many years, even decades.

Some argue the smart tampon might be welcomed by the newcomers to the monthly menstruation fun land. Girls that are new to the menstruation cycles might need to be warned when it’s the time to check their flow, but only until they get used to it.

Who wants a 12-inch string “accident waiting to happen” tied to their underwear? Maybe younger girls that could use it as “training wheels”. For the price tag of $68 for the monitor and $18 for the month’s supply of tampons, it’s highly likely this smart tampon project will ever hit the market.

Image source: Tech Times