Outasight to Present Tampon Concept at Hygienix
11.15.24
Design incorporates a menstrual disc
A new alternative to traditional tampons, OutaSite Cervical Disc Tampon concept is a hybrid of a menstrual disc and standard tampon that combines the best of both designs. The circular flat bidirectional product concept is intended to be lodged high in the vaginal vault just anterior to the cervix like a disc and features an absorbent material to collect menstrual fluid like a tampon. Founders Gwynne Hite and Terry Young will be present at Hygienix.
In company research, OutaSite found that respondents showed a high interest in the concept and a willingnesss to evaluate the product when it becomes available. Research subjects were profiled according to standard demographics, current menstrual product use and geographical location. The individuals were either able to hold an early concept prototype or watch a video that demonstrated the product and research questions addressed common situations during menstrual periods and whether the product concept described would be attractive during those times.
Figuring out how to combine the best qualities of a tampon and menstrual disc was not easy. It involved integrating multiple engineering and clinical concepts into a single design that has never been attempted before. Additionally, the product is a class-two medical device which also happens to be a textile consumer product. Finding available experts who understand both medical and textile products was a real challenge.
“My initial motivation was to design something simple and safe that would help these distressed women,” Hite says. “I soon began to realize that there is nothing simple about developing a personal care product, especially a novel concept, which integrates several engineering and clinical concepts. It has been the ride of my life to assemble a team of engineers and material science experts who can manifest a design concept of this caliber.”
This process was helped by the addition of Terry Young, a former researcher at Procter & Gamble and expert in absorbent technology, to the team as an engineering consultant in 2020 and as a full partner in 2023. Through his involvement, the company quickly added new IP to its design portfolio and has charted a course for future manufacturing. The company is now set to test out its assembly ideas and hopes to have a perfected design that can be clinically tested by mid-2024.
Currently, the OutaSite team is simultaneously working out the assembly process while expanding its "form & function" absorbency bench testing. This includes engineering a special, absorbency testing device called a Syngina that is already being used to mimic a lot of the natural positions a user would go through during daily routines. Also underway is the testing of assembly methodology, specifically injection molding, which is currently under construction.
In company research, OutaSite found that respondents showed a high interest in the concept and a willingnesss to evaluate the product when it becomes available. Research subjects were profiled according to standard demographics, current menstrual product use and geographical location. The individuals were either able to hold an early concept prototype or watch a video that demonstrated the product and research questions addressed common situations during menstrual periods and whether the product concept described would be attractive during those times.
Figuring out how to combine the best qualities of a tampon and menstrual disc was not easy. It involved integrating multiple engineering and clinical concepts into a single design that has never been attempted before. Additionally, the product is a class-two medical device which also happens to be a textile consumer product. Finding available experts who understand both medical and textile products was a real challenge.
“My initial motivation was to design something simple and safe that would help these distressed women,” Hite says. “I soon began to realize that there is nothing simple about developing a personal care product, especially a novel concept, which integrates several engineering and clinical concepts. It has been the ride of my life to assemble a team of engineers and material science experts who can manifest a design concept of this caliber.”
This process was helped by the addition of Terry Young, a former researcher at Procter & Gamble and expert in absorbent technology, to the team as an engineering consultant in 2020 and as a full partner in 2023. Through his involvement, the company quickly added new IP to its design portfolio and has charted a course for future manufacturing. The company is now set to test out its assembly ideas and hopes to have a perfected design that can be clinically tested by mid-2024.
Currently, the OutaSite team is simultaneously working out the assembly process while expanding its "form & function" absorbency bench testing. This includes engineering a special, absorbency testing device called a Syngina that is already being used to mimic a lot of the natural positions a user would go through during daily routines. Also underway is the testing of assembly methodology, specifically injection molding, which is currently under construction.