Waterloo Engineering student team PeriGuard won first place at the Velocity FemTech Innovation Challenge for their safe, cost-effective and eco-friendly device designed to prevent a woman’s perineum from tearing during childbirth.
The team of biomedical engineering students — Clara Kim, Erica Liu, Sean D'Mello and Emily Rose — competed against seven other teams at the pitch finale and were awarded $4,000 to invest in their innovation’s development.
The 10-day FemTech Challenge was a collaboration between Waterloo Engineering alum Rachel Bartholomew (MBET ’14), founder of Hyivy Health; Velocity and FemTech Canada to inspire student-driven innovations in women's health. It engaged over 100 students to develop technological solutions addressing menopause, gynecological issues and breast health.
Runner-up team Miora, an interdisciplinary group of students from the faculties of Engineering and Health, received a $1,000 prize for their AI-driven solution addressing cognitive changes during menopause.
Bartholomew emphasized the importance of advancing women's health research.
"Women were not required to be included in clinical trials until 1997,” Bartholomew told the participants. “The projects you’ve worked on help move the needle forward but keep going — the challenge doesn't end here.”
Go to Waterloo alum inspires student innovations in women’s health for the full story.