Emm - Get It Made's Women in Engineering Grant Winners

We are happy to announce the Women in Engineering grant winner - Emm Technology Ltd.

Emm is starting a new generation of menstrual healthcare by creating new products that would help to understand female health through technology. Their team consists of engineers, academics, researchers and innovators who have spent the past two years building our patent-pending technology and re-engineering period products to create a high-performance solution. 

We interviewed Emm to find out more about their organisation and their mission. We are delighted to share their answers with everyone who is interested in changing female health and wellness.

What is Emm’s goal?

We aim to improve everyday lives by closing the gender health and well-being gap. Our first range of products, due to launch in 2023, includes a smart menstrual cup and accessories. Half the world’s population menstruates for about half of their lives, yet people with periods have had to endure unreliable, uncomfortable and unsustainable products. 

As a female-led business, we genuinely listen to users’ needs and understand how we can provide better solutions. Our product builds on the benefits of existing menstrual cups whilst addressing the barriers to entry for mainstream appeal. Our patented collapsing design allows intuitive insertion with an Applicator, a unique dynamic seal provides improved reliability, and an integrated Frame makes removal more ergonomic. 

But we don’t want to stop at better period products. We recognise the gender health gap, which often leaves menstruators to suffer symptoms of undiagnosed health conditions silently. By combining an appealing period product with connected sensors, we have a unique opportunity to provide users with reassurance, convenience and personalised health insights. Through collaboration with leading academic institutions and healthcare providers, we have a real chance to make a measurable impact on early diagnosis and treatment of common female health conditions.

What will you use this grant for?

As a small start-up with limited resources developing complicated, intimate products, we need all the support we can get to create truly revolutionary products. 

Creating prototypes that fully encapsulate flexible electronics assemblies in medical-grade silicone is a technical challenge. Designing a comfortable and reliable product across various vagina shapes and sizes is a further challenge.

This grant would massively increase our ability to try multiple different options, iterate quickly and create custom prototypes for specific challenges. Every single prototype is an opportunity to learn and improve. The more iterations we can squeeze into the development cycle, the better the products will be for the users and the lower the risk for commercial success. 

Examples include SLS Nylon substrates and DMLS/CNC Aluminium tools for silicone over mould trials and injection mould tooling for prototype builds of the accessory products (e.g. Applicator) to get further user trial insights ahead of production.

What positive environmental impact can your organisation create?

We are a female-led company with female-focused products, and we demand gender diversity in all recruitment and selection of subcontractors. In our experience, prototypes are a fantastic opportunity to embody a company's mission and values. The more we produce, the more we can get out into the world for user trials, recruitment, investments, and marketing. 

Through physical products, we can raise the profile of the women that have created them and the women they are designed for. Even the production of "looks like" prototypes allows us to reach out to social media influencers and use their platform to celebrate the work and potential of women in engineering.

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We are very honoured to work with Emm and help them reach their goals by becoming their manufacturing partner! We look forward to helping with their prototyping and production of innovative menstrual products.

For information on our services or quotes, feel free to get in touch, or make a specific enquiry (i.e. for a CNC machining quote) today.