# WE'RE CREATING A NEW FRONTIER

## Transforming Women's Health Through Menstrual Blood

A new model for women's health is emerging—one based on continuous, accessible biological insight. Qvin has created the foundation for this shift. With the right support, it can be scaled into a coordinated global effort that redefines prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for the 1.8 billion women who menstruate monthly.

## FDA-cleared

First menstrual blood test

## CE & UKCA

Globally compliant kit

## 10,000+

Q-Pads deployed

## Extensive research

Peer reviewed science

## Standardized

Built for scale

## The Opportunity

## A recurring biological signal absent from modern medicine

Diabetes is often diagnosed too late, after complications like nerve damage, heart disease, or kidney problems have already begun. Without early intervention, the condition can lead to long-term health issues and a reduced quality of life.

## WHY HAS THIS BEEN OVERLOOKED?

## The limitation has not been scientific potential, but scalable collection

### At-Home Collection Is Essential

Menstruation is unpredictable across environments and multiple days. Any viable system must account for this dynamic environment, while ensuring ease of use. Designing a solution requires a deep understanding of a women's day-to-day life.

### Inconsistent and Impractical Collection

Research has relied on menstrual cups for lab convenience, but they create barriers. Adoption is limited by usability challenges, discomfort, and cultural constraints, reducing participation and limiting representative, scalable data.

### Sample Stability and Logistics

Samples _must_ remain stable across temperature changes, shipping delays, and decentralized handling. Without stabilization, degradation reduces data integrity and limits reliability for research and clinical use.

### Lack of Standardized Infrastructure

Variation in collection, processing, and analysis prevents reproducibility. Without standardized systems linking collection, logistics, and labs, research remains fragmented and difficult to scale.

### Cultural and Social Stigma

Menstruation stigma has historically limited the discussion and the investigation, and in some cultures, it's still "bad blood". A male dominated healthcare system has also restricted the development of large, diverse datasets.

### Chronic Underinvestment

Women’s health, particularly menstrual health, has received limited funding. This constrains tools, infrastructure, and long-term studies, leaving key biological signals underutilized.

## Diabetes by the Numbers

- 830,000,000+ live with diabetes.
- 240,000,000+ are unaware of their diabetes.
- 1,600,000+ deaths due to diabetes.

## Qvin Simplifies Diabetes Monitoring

## Partner with Qvin

### THE PROBLEM

Approximately $966 billion was spent on global diabetes-related health expenditures in 2021.

### THE SOLUTION

## Qvin makes blood work accessible, reducing costs, and saving lives.

## Rationale for the Q-Pad for Diabetes

Qvin’s Q-Pad—a modified menstrual pad embedded with a dried blood spot (DBS) strip—offers a clinically validated, non-invasive solution for diabetes monitoring by enabling self-collection of menstrual blood (MB). MB is a complex biological fluid containing whole blood, endometrial tissue, and vaginal secretions, and has demonstrated strong concordance with venous blood for key clinical biomarkers, including hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), the gold-standard indicator of long-term glycemic control. In both healthy and diabetic populations, Q-Pad-collected HbA1c levels showed correlation coefficients up to r = 0.96 and a mean bias below 1% when compared with venipuncture samples, supporting its analytical accuracy and reliability **[1][2]**. The Q-Pad addresses barriers associated with traditional blood collection—such as fear of needles, logistical constraints, and clinic access—by passively collecting stabilized samples during menstruation, which are then processed using standard laboratory instrumentation. Recognized and cleared by the FDA **[3]**, the Q-Pad represents a novel and scalable approach to expand access to chronic disease monitoring, particularly for women in underserved or remote settings.

## References

**[1]** Novel use of menstrual blood for monitoring glycaemic control in patients with diabetes: a proof-of-concept study, Naseri S, Brewster RCL, Blumenthal PD, BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, 2021.

**[2]** Concordance of hemoglobin A1c and reproductive hormone levels in menstrual and venous blood, Naseri S et al., Fertility and Sterility Reports, 2024.

**[3]** Qvin Q-Pad 510(k) Summary, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2023.