Hardware Podcasts

225. Detecting Disease Using Menstrual Pads

The Next Byte Podcast · 29 Jul 2025 · 17m

AI in practice: 2 real uses of AI described

What this episode covers

Hosts Daniel and the narrator discuss Metro AI, a smart sanitary pad developed by researchers at ETH Zurich, which transforms period products into diagnostic tools. The device uses a test strip with reactive antibodies to detect biomarkers like CRP, CEA, and CA 125, indicating inflammation or cancer, with results read via a companion mobile app using computer vision. The hosts highlight the product's potential for early, low-cost, and non-invasive disease detection, particularly in low-resource areas, while noting current limitations regarding calibration and market penetration among tampon users.

AI in practice

Where this conversation describes AI being used to build or deliver a product. Part of the AI in practice tracker.

Engineering & simulationmobile app with computer vision and machine learning

The team used machine learning in a companion app to analyze color intensity changes on a test strip, enabling precise detection of biomarkers that the human eye might miss.

“they actually promote users to use that because it's got the, this is where the artificial intelligence comes in. It's got the computer vision and the sensing technology to pick up on those small differences in color intensity that might be missed by the human eye, which can give you very accurate and precise information about the biomarkers that were detected.”

Speaker 1 · Hear it at 6:33

Engineering & simulationsmartphone app with machine learning

Researchers utilized machine learning in a smartphone app to obtain precise color readings from the changing test strip, improving the accuracy of biomarker detection.

“and then in early studies, they were doing this smartphone app as well with machine learning to get precise color readings on the change, changing color, the test strip.”

Speaker 2 · Hear it at 8:15

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
ETH Zurich, Mouser Electronics, George Mason University, University of the Arts
Products
Metro AI

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