Health Technology and Reproduction

Kathleen M. Hoeger, MD, MPH

Terhi T. Piltonen, MD, PhD

The current issue of Seminars in Reproductive Medicine is devoted to a review of the burgeoning role of health technology in the field of reproductive medicine. The guest editor for the issue is Dr. Shruthi Mahalingaiah. Dr. Mahalingaiah is an assistant professor of environmental, reproductive, and women's health in the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She is also a reproductive endocrinologist who specializes in the care of women with reproductive disorders and infertility. She was recognized early in her career for work in the study of ovulation and menstrual health with the 2016 Endocrine Society Early Investigator award and an RSDP grant. She has worked internationally studying indigenous peoples in the Andes and in Bali on rituals in the healing process and was a prior Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) scholar.

Dr. Mahalingaiah is actively involved in the creation of diverse cohorts to study women's health across the reproductive lifespan. She is currently funded by the March of Dimes, National Science Foundation, and is on the leadership team of the Apple Women's Health study. She is the Director of Clinical Research at the Mass General Fertility Center and the Director of the Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Clinic there.

Dr. Mahalingaiah's research in developing a new cohort platform to study menstrual disorders and ovulation disorders led to her interest in the growing influence of the female health technology “femtech” field. Recognizing the huge economic impact and worldwide marketing of the apps, wearable devices, and software, she uses this issue to explore the industry's impact on the betterment of healthcare for women. She has invited authors who are active in the femtech space to provide overviews of where the field has been and where it may be going. Importantly there is an emphasis on providing equity in vulnerable populations. While there is still much work to improve the current technology, understanding the increasing role this may play in women's health is critical.

Publication History

Article published online:
21 November 2024