ASX listed medical device company Analytica has released the latest version of its innovative urinary incontinence device known as the “PeriCoach”, with the version 3 device now integrating significant upgrades in hardware.
Analytica said on Monday that new version included improvements with regards to processing capabilities, wireless connectivity, power management, “over-the-air” firmware update capabilities as well as an enhanced user experience.
According to the company, PeriCoach version 3 also utilises cutting-edge technology found in smartphones and wearable devices such as an “accelerometer” and a “gyroscope chip”, enabling the device to sense the motion of the PeriCoach during a pelvic floor exercise session to help improve outcomes for users.
Specifically, Analytica is confident the new v3 hardware, combined with force sensors that directly measure pelvic floor muscle squeeze force, will allow the updated system to make an assessment about exercise technique to assist incontinence sufferers to improve the way they do their pelvic floor exercises.
Analytica CEO Geoff Daly said: ““We’re very excited about the release of v3. Externally the v3 does not look much different but inside it’s got some great new technology.
“Key opinion leaders have told us from this product’s inception that correct technique is critical to the efficacy of pelvic floor exercise. Their message is that poor technique leads to poor results, and that causes women to simply give up … The v3 has the potential to break this circle, helping more women to do their exercises correctly.
“Advancing the hardware lays the foundation. Expect to see further developments in software and functionality this quarter as we analyse anonymised v3 real-world data and develop the treatment algorithms.
With PeriCoach, Analytica is confident it can assist the millions of women globally who suffer from stress urinary incontinence, with some estimates putting the number of women impacted worldwide at 1 in 3.
In essence, PeriCoach works by monitoring, via smart phone, a woman’s pelvic floor muscles during exercise to combat incontinence and can even be monitored remotely by a medical professional to determine if a user is exercising correctly.
Monday’s update follows upbeat post-market research from Analytica released earlier this year, showing 70 per cent of regular “severe” incontinence sufferers reporting an improvement to “moderate” symptoms by using PeriCoach.
The Brisbane-based outfit has previously been buoyed by robust backing from corporate investors including an investment from Virgin Islands based biotech investment fund INOV8, who last year took two 500k placements in Analytica.
By Matt Birney
