These new menstrual cups tackle usability issues whereas opening the door to future health-monitoring capabilities. Credit score: McMaster College
Researchers at McMaster College have developed a brand new menstrual well being product designed to enhance and improve an current menstrual cup that’s safer, simpler to make use of and extra environmentally sustainable than present choices.
The innovation is a part of a broader initiative at McMaster to develop wearable applied sciences that proactively monitor ladies’s well being. As a part of this work, the analysis staff has revealed a perspective evaluate in Nature Communications, outlining how rising applied sciences, like this new menstrual cup, may be leveraged to detect infections, monitor reproductive well being and enhance diagnostics.
The brand new part, described in a paper revealed in ACS Utilized Supplies and Interfaces, is a flushable pill constituted of extremely absorbent seaweed-based materials. It is designed to carry menstrual blood and reduce spills throughout elimination—a standard barrier to wider adoption of menstrual cups. This pill enhances the present Bfree Cup, which is constituted of lubricant-infused silicone that naturally repels viruses and micro organism and eliminates the necessity for boiling between makes use of.
“This project opened my eyes to how urgently innovation is needed in menstrual care,” says Zeinab Hosseinidoust, an affiliate professor of biomedical and chemical engineering and co-lead researcher on the staff. “There’s been little movement in the conversation around menstrual care. Some of that is due to stigma and some is lack of interest, but cups have the potential to make a serious difference in the lives of women around the world.”
The analysis staff additionally included graduate college students Shaghayegh Moghimi and Lubna Najm in addition to postdoctoral fellow Fereshteh Bayat, who performed key roles in growing and testing.
The product was developed in collaboration with Leisa Hirtz, founding father of Girls’s International Well being Improvements positioned at McMaster’s Innovation Park, who approached the researchers.
“Menstrual health is a critical issue for millions of girls and women, particularly those living in poverty in low- and middle-income countries, where access to safe and dignified products remains a barrier to education, employment and social participation. This innovation builds on Bfree Cup’s proven technology to support wider adoption and reduce period poverty. The current research also opens the door to advanced diagnostic capabilities that could transform how we monitor and manage women’s reproductive health globally,” Hirtz says.
Past comfort and security, the expertise has the potential to considerably scale back the environmental impression of disposable menstrual merchandise and enhance entry to menstrual care in lower-income communities. Every cup is designed to final for a number of years, providing a cheap and sustainable answer for customers who could not have dependable entry to tampons or pads.
Although menstrual cups have lengthy been accessible, their uptake has been restricted because of usability challenges. These new cups tackle these issues whereas opening the door to future health-monitoring capabilities.
The analysis staff envisions future variations of the menstrual merchandise outfitted with sensors to detect early indicators of infections and blood-borne sicknesses—utilizing menstrual blood as a wealthy supply of organic info.
“This could be a new form of wearable technology that could be even more valuable than a smartwatch,” says affiliate professor of mechanical and bioengineering Tohid Didar, who co-led the analysis. “We have mainly been reactive in terms of women’s health. This can give us an opportunity to start being proactive. If we can add simple systems to menstrual products to monitor for infections and conditions, such as endometriosis and UTIs, we could find these problems much sooner. There is a lot to explore in this area.”
“Our review underscores how recent advances in biosensors, wearables, and AI can close critical gaps in women’s health diagnostics, from reproductive care to cancer and osteoporosis,” says Wei Gao, professor of Engineering and Utilized Science at Caltech and co-author of the Nature Communications perspective.
Extra info:
Shaghayegh Moghimikandelousi et al, Advances in biomonitoring applied sciences for girls’s well being, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63501-3
Self-Cleansing Menstrual Cups with Plant-Based mostly Biodegradable Superabsorbent Fibrous Tablets for Hygienic and Sustainable Interval Automotive, ACS Utilized Supplies & Interfaces (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5c16140
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Seaweed-based pill transforms menstrual cups into instruments for well being monitoring (2025, October 11)
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