The Tampon of the Future(nytimes.com)
nytimes.com
The Tampon of the Future
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/03/opinion/sunday/the-tampon-of-the-future.html
56 comments
Actually, generalizing this, the idea of collecting regular samples from regular bodily excrement is fascinating.
Imagine a "lab in the toilet". Every time it is flushed, it runs analysis on the current contents and produces reports if requested, or alerts if needed.
"You're currently suffering potassium deficiencies, which can cause frequent headaches. Eat a banana to alleviate concerns."
Imagine a "lab in the toilet". Every time it is flushed, it runs analysis on the current contents and produces reports if requested, or alerts if needed.
"You're currently suffering potassium deficiencies, which can cause frequent headaches. Eat a banana to alleviate concerns."
You don't have to imagine it; you could buy one 6 years ago (http://singularityhub.com/2009/05/12/smart-toilets-doctors-i...)
And that was version 2. http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TECH/06/28/spark.toilet/index.ht... Shows you could buy one in 2005. From that description, it seems there was some room for making the thing easier to use then, though.
And that was version 2. http://edition.cnn.com/2005/TECH/06/28/spark.toilet/index.ht... Shows you could buy one in 2005. From that description, it seems there was some room for making the thing easier to use then, though.
Maybe I'm paranoid, but my concern with these things has always been that Facebook (or Google or some other personal data aggregator) would buy the company and suddenly my toilet would be calling home to their servers (à la Occulus Rift). I'm sure they'll find a way to make it need an internet connection.
Do these toilets seriously not function without internet access? I guess I could see the toilet being essentially a sensor array with some networking hardware; the decision-making about your fecal content would then be done in a datacenter.
As long as the stupid thing still flushes without internet access; I have never been more concerned about an IoT version of an existing appliance not doing its job. That is, I could stand an oven or blender not functioning; a toilet simply must work or the bathroom itself becomes nigh useless. "Honey, our toilet won't flush; are we still being DDoSed?"
As long as the stupid thing still flushes without internet access; I have never been more concerned about an IoT version of an existing appliance not doing its job. That is, I could stand an oven or blender not functioning; a toilet simply must work or the bathroom itself becomes nigh useless. "Honey, our toilet won't flush; are we still being DDoSed?"
That's why you need an open source toilet that runs Linux.
2016 is the year of linux on the toilet
Adult Swim did an infomercial spoof about the same idea https://youtu.be/DJklHwoYgBQ
As the article also talks of general patents applied for and awarded to women aside from patents related to the products to handle the menstrual cycle, the title could have been a little more general. Or does a title that explicitly refers to 'tampons' getter better readership?
Why don't we hear - on HN or in the startup world - talk of disrupting this industry?
My brother in law works for P&G in their tampon department as a researcher. He is a chemical engineer. He tells me most advances come from small startups outside the US and and they are usually quietly acquired. There seems to be a lot of red tape to get through before you can even do something small in that industry. It's not like you can throw some code and have a tampon 2.0 in a weekend. Tampons are a really complex thing. He explained to me how different types of fabrics and the way they are used can be potentially fatal ti some women. Thats why the research for the common tampon is ongoing.
If you mean the tampon industry: It already has been disrupted: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup
I love this bit:
Menstrual cups are safe when used as directed and no health risks related to their use have been found. However, no medical research was conducted to ensure that menstrual cups were safe prior to introduction on the market.
Ah, the old assumption of safety.
Menstrual cups are safe when used as directed and no health risks related to their use have been found. However, no medical research was conducted to ensure that menstrual cups were safe prior to introduction on the market.
Ah, the old assumption of safety.
Kinda like how saccharine was discovered because a chemist had neglected to wash his hands after coming home from work, bit into a dinner roll, found it sweet, and then went around tasting everything in his laboratory until he found the sweet compound?
Makes me wonder how humanity ever discovered wine. "If you take grapes, squeeze the juice out of them, let it sit until its been colonized by a fungi, it'll develop a nerve poison that you should drink because it'll make you sick less often than water from that stream." To say nothing of beans, nutmeg, elderberry, or other foods that are poisonous when eaten raw.
Makes me wonder how humanity ever discovered wine. "If you take grapes, squeeze the juice out of them, let it sit until its been colonized by a fungi, it'll develop a nerve poison that you should drink because it'll make you sick less often than water from that stream." To say nothing of beans, nutmeg, elderberry, or other foods that are poisonous when eaten raw.
I own a small vineyard. I can tell you without a doubt that the process of making wine is literally BEGGING to happen. The skin of the grape is covered with yeast cultures that are ready to ferment the sugar inside the grape. The second that there's a breaking of the skin (aka a deer comes by and grabs a snack), the process kicks off. After a couple of days, there's enough alcohol content in the grape that bees can hone in on the broken cluster (via smell or whatever). Get enough bees around, and they start eating more grapes, and voila. Bee-booze-chain-reaction. Ruined crop. RIP2015.
fun fact: beer was discovered way, way before bread.
those things happen by itself. leave grain in rain. next day: shitty beer. then just interact from there.
those things happen by itself. leave grain in rain. next day: shitty beer. then just interact from there.
A few startups (and non-startup projects like http://www.tampon.club/) have been submitted, such as Looncup (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/700989404/looncup-the-w...) and subscription-based delivery of tampons and pads.
"Bloom has a lot of competition in the tampon subscription space. In September, Juniper launched for the high-end market with a discreet box of tampons, pads, pantyliners, and "indulgences" such as chocolate and tea for $28 a month. Then in November, My Cotton Bunny launched with a box of tampons or pads and a surprise gift for $13.75 a month. Le Parcel launched in January, offering a box of tampons, pads, chocolate, and a gift for $15 a month. There’s also Sent Her Way in California, Perfect Timing in New Jersey, and Trinkets in the UK."
http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/4/4035188/tampon-subscription...
"Bloom has a lot of competition in the tampon subscription space. In September, Juniper launched for the high-end market with a discreet box of tampons, pads, pantyliners, and "indulgences" such as chocolate and tea for $28 a month. Then in November, My Cotton Bunny launched with a box of tampons or pads and a surprise gift for $13.75 a month. Le Parcel launched in January, offering a box of tampons, pads, chocolate, and a gift for $15 a month. There’s also Sent Her Way in California, Perfect Timing in New Jersey, and Trinkets in the UK."
http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/4/4035188/tampon-subscription...
What's the value-add over Amazon?
Is it the "discreet" boxes? Maybe some people need it? I treat it with the same secrecy that I treat my toilet paper.
Is it the "discreet" boxes? Maybe some people need it? I treat it with the same secrecy that I treat my toilet paper.
Not having to think about reordering it every month? In any case, subscription "stuff" seems to work, people are signing up for it!
I think spacehome is asking because Amazon already allows one to subscribe for tampons and other hygiene products, under their "Subscribe & Save" feature.
Oh, I didn't know that. Interesting...
It's a Startup
I don't know about disrupting the technology but there looks to be a lot of room to do things with distribution and product differentiation. Here is an Aussie startup http://tomorganic.com.au/
Not sure if it counts as disruptive but few years ago THINX underwear was on the news [1].
[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8021090
[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8021090
There's a startup in the most recent YC Fellowship batch: http://techcrunch.com/2016/03/31/the-flex-company/.
I - as a man - would love to have an automatic full-blown blood test every month without going to the doctor
Why?
You'd risk massive over-diagnosis and over-treatment, both of which provide a significant risk of serious harm.
You'd risk massive over-diagnosis and over-treatment, both of which provide a significant risk of serious harm.
I very much doubt users — let alone physicians — would be making treatment decisions on the basis of an automated testing regime. In the event of abnormalities on an automated test, you'd see your doctor, discuss, and order repeat and/or follow-up testing to confirm, refute, or clarify.
Moreover, you'd also gain a very wide, data-rich baseline to compare subsequent results against, which would probably counter most of the over-diagnosis and allow for long-term trending of very important data.
It would, IMO, be wholly worth the risks you raise.
Moreover, you'd also gain a very wide, data-rich baseline to compare subsequent results against, which would probably counter most of the over-diagnosis and allow for long-term trending of very important data.
It would, IMO, be wholly worth the risks you raise.
The problem is more subtle than simply doing a procedure based on faulty data - it's the invasive procedures done based on indication of a potential problem, often done to reduce risk without necessarily improving (and in fact, occasionally reducing) the health of the patient, simply because the patients discover they have some anomaly that may cause a real problem (like cancer) in the future, and they don't want to live in fear.
http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2015/11/robert_aronowit.htm...
http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2015/11/robert_aronowit.htm...
Your answer to "people are going to be over diagnosed and over treated" is "but they'll talk to their doctor" - but that already happens in the US and the massive over testing, over diagnosis and over treatment already causes great harm, and it's the doctors who are doing it.
This is a great point. I'm hugely attracted to the quantified self stuff, but the fact it's not clear the outcomes of knowing all this data is net good, given our flawed selves.
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I appreciate the systemic concern around these things but every time I see this response I see it as todays thinking applied to tomorrows world.
Right now, we have so few data points that we have little idea about the natural rhythms and variations of our body chemistry - just like how we have static imaging techniques but almost never any imaging of our bodies in motion. We have this really static view of all aspects of our bodies, coupled with 'normal' ranges that may not be our own normal. If we choose to do a bunch of tests on a perfectly healthy person, there's something bound to be outside normal. Applying todays thinking, that's a patient over-diagnosis problem as you say.
However, if we're gathering frequent data from lots of people, we'll be able to approach diagnosis differently. We'll have a new, deeper understanding of the variance in our bodies, and its unlikely one area of bloodwork getting outside normal range is going to cause alarm - we'll be used to this (and normal ranges themselves will change). These data might result in health care providers recommending some minor preventative medicine course-correction, but if the data gathering is frequent enough, we'll have much better ability to understand when something is truly problematic that requires expensive & risky treatment. In that respect, frequent testing can lead to less expensive/risky over-treatment than today's world of infrequent sampling, and more cheap/minor nutritional/activity/etc interventions backed by data.
I think the concern behind your statement is that the current system isn't going to be able to easily adapt to this new approach, and in the meantime there's going to be some over-diagnosis until the medical system can wrap its head around a new data-rich approach to things. The desire by patients to understand and optimize their health is going to be the driver here.
Right now, we have so few data points that we have little idea about the natural rhythms and variations of our body chemistry - just like how we have static imaging techniques but almost never any imaging of our bodies in motion. We have this really static view of all aspects of our bodies, coupled with 'normal' ranges that may not be our own normal. If we choose to do a bunch of tests on a perfectly healthy person, there's something bound to be outside normal. Applying todays thinking, that's a patient over-diagnosis problem as you say.
However, if we're gathering frequent data from lots of people, we'll be able to approach diagnosis differently. We'll have a new, deeper understanding of the variance in our bodies, and its unlikely one area of bloodwork getting outside normal range is going to cause alarm - we'll be used to this (and normal ranges themselves will change). These data might result in health care providers recommending some minor preventative medicine course-correction, but if the data gathering is frequent enough, we'll have much better ability to understand when something is truly problematic that requires expensive & risky treatment. In that respect, frequent testing can lead to less expensive/risky over-treatment than today's world of infrequent sampling, and more cheap/minor nutritional/activity/etc interventions backed by data.
I think the concern behind your statement is that the current system isn't going to be able to easily adapt to this new approach, and in the meantime there's going to be some over-diagnosis until the medical system can wrap its head around a new data-rich approach to things. The desire by patients to understand and optimize their health is going to be the driver here.
As a women who has serious needle-phobia, I can't believe I've never even considered this possibility.
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tomp(3)
So since many western women are choosing when to have their periods and we do so often purely for reproductive reasons, such a tampon-analyser would sell very very well. We're already used to being grossed out by our blood by the time we want to reproduce so what's the harm in dropping a used tampon in a cylinder once a month, on top of everything else we do.