NIH-backed startup Amissa launches AI platform to improve menopause care
Amissa, a NIH-backed startup launched on Wednesday, aims to improve menopause care through its artificial intelligence platform.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based company is the recipient of a National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research Grant. Amissa uses data from multiple sources to generate insights that help clinicians track changes in menopausal symptoms over time and make more informed care decisions. Amissa co-founder and CEO Samantha Smith said it uses three main data pillars:
- Menopause Rating Scale: A questionnaire that assesses the severity of common menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, sleep problems, and mood changes. This is included in patient onboarding and pre-appointment intake.
- Symptom Tracking: Women are asked to continuously self-track their symptoms.
- Wearable data: Amissa integrates with wearable devices such as Apple Watch, Oura, Garmin and Whoop. This provides insights into sleep, fatigue, and more.
This information is aggregated into a single reviewable clinical record in the provider's EHR. It allows providers to understand a patient's symptoms before, during and between visits and make changes to their care if needed. For patients, this makes it easier to track and share symptoms and relieves them of the burden of remembering details during appointments.
The company's services are necessary because women can enter perimenopause (the transition period to menopause) as early as their 30s, and there are dozens of symptoms that aren't always obvious. People often associate menopause with hot flashes, but hot flashes often occur much later in life, Smith said. Instead, early symptoms are more likely to include anxiety, mood swings or other things “that you might not even associate with hormonal changes,” she says.
“You could experience symptoms for up to 10 years over the course of the entire process. … If you look at existing research on EHRs, they don't even have fields available to track those symptoms over time, which is something you have to know exactly about a patient to be able to help. So to be honest, whenever I pitch a solution to investors, it's not very appealing, but the simplicity of it is what makes it so great. It just organizes the data in a way that allows clinicians to take more action. Smartly,” Smith declared.
The company has partnered with 10 clinical clinics in the United States, including Helia Health. Healthcare providers pay Amissa's platform a per-clinician fee, Smith said.
“Menopausal symptoms do not change in a straight line,” Dr. Ariel Haddad, an ob-gyn and founder of Helia Health, said in a statement. “When I can see what's improving, what's getting worse, and what's staying the same between visits, I can confidently adjust care and show patients that their experience is being taken seriously.”
Menopause and perimenopause are receiving increasing attention across the healthcare industry as more companies emerge and gain traction in the field. These include virtual menopause providers Midi Health, Evernow and Gennev. However, Smith claims that Amissa is “the only platform focused on the clinician connection part.”
“We're B2B. We're not wearables. We're not supplements. We don't provide medications, or we don't provide actual advice. So on the regulatory side, we're really playing in what I call a safe space, but also providing the best value for the data available,” she added.
Ultimately, the company aims to “redefine” menopause care.
“My big goal is to make sure that we support clinicians in a way that not only improves care for women who are in these situations now, but also improves care for women like me in the future, to hopefully create a better future where, overall, we can change the tide on menopause,” Smith said.
Photo: Amisa
