Tech Wearable Offers Drug-Free Symptom Relief
Published 06 May 2024
Period-related pain, mood changes and fatigue are prevalent global phenomena. In the UK, 59% of women aged 16-40 experience severe pain (The Guardian, 2023), and around 31 million worldwide suffer from melancholy (Oxford University, 2024). Addressing these issues, British medtech start-up Samphire Neuroscience’s brain-stimulating wearable uses electric currents to override symptoms before they start.
The Nettle headband claims to alleviate menstrual pain and mood disorders such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), primary dysmenorrhea (PDM) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Using neuromodulation, the headband – which is worn for 20 minutes on the five days before menstruation starts – stimulates specific parts of the brain with a low electrical current via a method called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).
Therapies using tDCS help the brain block pain signals and adapt to changing hormone levels by forming and reorganising synaptic connections, which should help alleviate pain and regulate moods. According to Samphire, hormone levels and brain structure and activity are connected, meaning the menstrual cycle can trigger changes in the brain affecting mood and energy.
The Nettle headband is designed to be used during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle (which begins around day 15 of a 28-day cycle, before menstruation starts) when hormone levels change the most. According to Samphire, 87% of test cases reported a reduction in pain, 81% stated mood fluctuations improved, 84% reported less anxiety, and 72% said they weren’t as fatigued (Samphire Neuroscience, 2024).
Other therapies using tDCS have been made available to treat depression. Swedish medtech business Flow Neuroscience developed a similar headband to alleviate depression, which is now being trialled by the UK’s National Health Service (since February 2024). And Finnish medtech company Sooma offers tDCS-based therapies for depression and chronic pain.
For more on innovative health wearables, see Medtech’s Next Era.
