Indiegogo has a new campaign for a tampon that holds as much period blood as a menstrual cup – and it measures your vaginal pH and how much you’re bleeding at the same time.
The Tulipon is the brainchild of biomedical engineer and Gals Bio CEO Hilla Shaviv, and it has one notable fan already: Ida Tin, the entrepreneur behind the period-tracking app Clue, and the person who coined the phrase “femtech.”
“I can now sleep a whole night through without worrying that the Tulipon has been in for too long. It’s a bold, visionary, and well-engineered product that think many will welcome,” Tin said in a statement.
Sleeping through the night highlights the fact that Tulipon’s makers say it can hold 3 to 4 tampons worth of blood. In addition to holding more blood, the company says it solves the challenges presented with removing menstrual cups using a “liquid lock” mechanism. That ensures the menstrual blood stays inside the Tulipon, even after it is removed using a string, just like a regular tampon. (You can see the product in action with tomato juice and a dummy here.)
In addition, the Tulipon also has sensors that will measure vaginal pH and the volume of blood collected.
“Both are important early indicators for early health issues, such as sexually transmitted disease and increased blood loss, accompanied by anemia, which is more common in periomenopause or with endometrial abnormalities,” said Amos Ber, an OBGYN and the Chief Medical Officer at Gals Bio.
You can purchase the Tulipon as part of the Indiegogo campaign. The company estimates shipping the product in December 2024.