A company that specialises in developing medical devices for women has been shortlisted for the product of the year at the 2018 Bionow Awards.

Femeda’s Pelviva product, a pelvic floor muscle re-trainer with reactive pulse technology (RPT), was launched into the UK market in October. The product is disposable and is used for the treatment of urinary incontinence (UI).

Pelviva is made of a body responsive foam to adapt to every woman’s individual shape. The Pelviva RPT delivers a series of intensive reactive pulses every alternate 10 seconds, to stimulate the pelvic floor muscles.

The product incorporates a pattern of neuromuscular electrical stimulation using a programme developed by Professor Oldham at The University of Manchester. Each device contains a microprocessor that delivers RPT to the Pelvic Floor muscles. The Pelviva reactive pulse mimics the way the body works naturally, causing the pelvic floor muscles to contract. This helps restore speed and strength to the power fibres, to prevent bladder leakage when women cough, laugh, sneeze or exercise. It also re-trains the endurance fibres to hold on when a woman urgently needs the toilet, giving back control over urgency bladder leakage.

Andrew Tasker, CEO of Femeda said: “It is a great achievement to have been shortlisted in this category. This recognises the result of 10 years research and development to bring to market a highly consumer acceptable medical device which delivers a clinically proven treatment, addressing the biggest unmet need in female health. The development is the result of combining advanced research and patents from University of Manchester with Femeda product development to deliver a product which meets the patient need.

"A third of all women suffer from bladder leakage and Pelviva is the first product of its kind that is really easy to use and is clinically proven to treat bladder leaks. Pelviva is a pioneering medical device that will have a life-changing impact on women’s quality of life.”

The winners will be announced on the evening of Thursday 29th November.