Addressing AI bias in FemTech

The FemTech sector, which focuses on female health and wellbeing, has been experiencing significant growth and enjoying new enthusiasm for investment in the last decade. In fact, in 2023, the sector witnessed an overall investment of $1.14 billion across 120 deals.¹ This growth, however, masks significant inequities in the way that funds and investments are distributed within the overall MedTech industry. In fact, less than 2.5 % of public-funded research in the UK is dedicated to reproductive health, even though it causes health issues for a third of women.² Similarly, female-founded FemTech startups have raised $4.6 million per business on average, compared to $9.2 million by all male FemTech management teams.³

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a swiftly advancing technology transforming virtually every industry, and it is already impacting the MedTech sector. AI's ability to analyse unstructured and structured data, using Machine Learning (ML) techniques, and ability to detect underlying patterns and associations, enables it to offer novel insights and breakthroughs in health.

Whether this data is in text form (such as notes), video or imagery, AI/ML can help save endless man-hours and help provide fact-based interpretations and analysis that could otherwise take human researchers years to complete. For example, AI/ML can rapidly analyse radiology images, histological data, posture, eye movement, speech speed, pitch and sound and a whole range of other types of input. The specific inputs required will always depend on the intended use of the medical device, and the medical conditions it is associated with. An AI/ML enabled medical device can then provide structured medical information back to clinicians and patients, inferred using the training data used to develop the model.