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Loewen Cavill, co-founder and CEO of Amira, never expected to work in the menopause space. But then her aunt was unexpectedly hospitalized due to severe menopause symptoms.
“She was waking up five times a night for four years [because of hot flashes],” Cavill said in an interview. “Her sleep deprivation got so bad that she had to quit her job, that she would get sick all of the time, that she was no longer herself anymore, that she spent over $10,000 on doctors, naturopaths, and products. One of the things she tried sent her to the hospital with side effects.”
Cavill thought her aunt’s experience had to be niche. But after digging deeper and speaking with hundreds of women, she learned that it was actually very common (in fact, three-quarters of women will battle sleep disruptions from hot flashes). This led Cavill to start Amira in 2021. The startup is focused on supporting women during menopause and launched a new product on Tuesday during CES 2024 that helps women going through menopause stay asleep at night.
The AI-powered product is called The Terra System and includes a wearable bracelet that can predict hot flashes before they occur. The user also receives a cooling mattress pad that the woman lies on. Once the bracelet detects that the hot flash is happening, the mattress pad is activated. This helps the user moderate her temperature fluctuations and stay asleep throughout the night, Cavill said.
In the initial stages of testing the product, Cavill said the team would set an alarm to wake up at 4 a.m. and eat ghost peppers to mimic some of the temperature changes women going through menopause experience. Amira also released The Terra System to 50 women for feedback before launching it. One user said that she “didn’t even notice” her hot flashes at night when using the product, according to a news release.
The Terra System costs $699 for consumers but is available for preorder at 25% off. Eventually, Amira aims to work with insurers and employers to provide coverage for the product, Cavill said.
The release of the product comes after the October launch of Amy, a textable AI health coach. Users first tell Amy about the menopause symptoms they have and what they’ve tried to treat those symptoms. Then Amy will provide personalized recommendations to users and will check in on patients about their progress. Amy is currently available to consumers for free, though the company may charge for the feature in the future, according to Cavill.
Amira is not the only company that offers a wearable device for menopause. Other devices include the Embr Wave 2 and the Thermaband Zone.
Looking ahead, Amira is focused on getting the word out about The Terra System. The company also hopes to find ways to make the product more accessible to women.
“A lot of our Amy users are on Medicaid and are going to food banks, so selling them a $699 thing is difficult for those users. [We’re] figuring out ways that we can provide for them as well,” Cavill said.
Photo: Peter Dazeley, Getty Images
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