Endometriosis is an often painful chronic gynaecological disorder in which tissue that normally lines the inside of a woman’s uterus grows outside of the uterus. The patient has to live with certain symptoms, like painful periods and ovulation, pain during or after sexual intercourse, heavy bleeding, chronic pelvic pain, fatigue, and infertility over time.
These symptoms can impact on general physical, mental, and social wellbeing. If left untreated, endometriosis can lead to further health complications, painful intercourse and infertility. According to the World Endometriosis Society and the World Endometriosis Research Foundation:
“Endometriosis affects an estimated 1 in 10 women during their reproductive years, which is approximately 176 million women in the world.”
Despite this, there has been little commitment to investing in basic research and there is currently no known cure for endometriosis.
Not only is there no known cure, diagnosis isn’t simple. This is because endometriosis symptoms are often dismissed as ‘just bad periods’. Symptoms can also be similar to those of other diseases.
At Sweden National Finals Creative Business Cup on May 8 2019, Sweden’s top 8 startups within the creative industries pitched their ideas to a ‘jury’ of investors. One of these ideas might just be able to validate under-recognised illnesses such as Endometriosis.
Endometrix
Endometrix is an app that aims to make endometriosis easier to understand. It can provide self-care advice on how to treat symptoms through adequate, accessible and individualised healthcare through the use of technology.
Behind Endometrix is a cool team from Stockholm with backgrounds in bio-entrepreneurship, media & communication and healthcare. Witnessing the inadequate gynaecological care and a lack of everything from validation to awareness, choices and treatment, they created an innovative tailor-made solution for a slow-moving, conservative industry.
“Do not undermine the power of women turning to one another to share their knowledge and emotions with each other. Endometrix was born with this connective mindset. Our vision is that every woman receives adequate care by sharing their experiences and progress with one another.” – Moa Felicia Linder, Co-Founder
“I was told, the only time you look at what someone else has is to see if they have enough. I looked, and found that there wasn’t enough; there has been unequal treatment, unequal pay and unequal care for women. Through Endometrix, I want to change at least one of those things.” – Sushrut Shastri, Co-Founder
“I had an incredible six years helping people working as a registered nurse, but there came a point where I wanted to be able to help people on a larger scale. Ultimately, to provide people with easier access to adequate care. I hope to achieve just that through Endometrix.” – Mitchell Isakka, Co-Founder
At the core of their solution lies the personal experiences of endometriosis of different girls and women. “We sent out the survey to which a lot of people responded and that was the basis for training a machine learning algorithm,” says cofounder Sushrut Shastri. The app uses machine learning, an automated system that uses data to answer questions. By using data from over 700 individuals, Endometrix identifies patterns and teaches themodel to learn how each user manages these symptoms.
Its 80% accuracy reduces the time it takes to reach diagnosis. It has potential to expand to other gynecological conditions, such as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), Adenomyosis and all sorts of infections.
Machine learning in healthcare is not something new. It has been playing an integral role in for at least 5-10 years. In the case of Endometriosis, the Endometrix app gives users access to information from the experiences of others who are overcoming similar challenges. It also helps to curate a wellness plan (diet, fitness, medication and meditation) and bust myths around endometriosis. “The future of machine learning used in healthcare is to help doctors to work together with doctors”, says cofounder Sushrut Shastri.
Using the full potential of artificial intelligence, and machine learning in particular, often requires addressing certain issues. However, health is fundamentally different from other areas since it concerns the understanding of diseases and treatments.
Machine learning technology can help tremendously with under-recognised disorders like endometriosis and provide doctors with the evidence they need to help girls and women.
