The Artemis bodysuit from Alpha Femtech
(Picture: Marton Martos)New wearable tech designed to reduce period pain is coming to the UK later this year — the Artemis bodysuit from Alpha Femtech.
The company’s co-founder, Dora Pelczer, told the BBC it will be available in the UK and Europe, and will cost €220 (£193.90).
While the tech behind the Artemis bodysuit is quite familiar, its form is a little more unusual.
It uses heat and TENS electrical signals to reduce period pain, but the battery pack clips onto the eponymous bodysuit, which is made using a combination of merino wool, lyocell, and “bio-ceramic yarn”.
The heating pad sits between two knitted layers in the suit, and the electrodes for the TENS pads fit through a hole on the front. It means more headaches for Artemis, introducing the need for multiple sizes, but it helps the bodysuit stand out among the competing TENS solutions.
How to reduce period pain
TENS transmits electrical pulses through your skin, using gel pads. These partially drown out the pain signals passing through to your brain, and help your muscles relax. It’s a proven method for pain reduction in neck and back-pain cases, as well as period pain.
The box you attach to the bodysuit by your hip houses the battery that runs the TENS and heat pads, and also a Bluetooth transmitter that communicates with an app on your phone.
This app lets you customise the effect of both the “Heat” and “Vibe” (TENS) effects. There are 10 intensity levels for heat, and 10 intensity levels for each of the five “wave types”, the patterns of electrical signals the machine can generate.
The app also lets you track pain symptoms, with the aim of helping you “figure out triggers”.
However, budget TENS machines are also available for under £30 online — these lack the heat pads of the Artemis bodysuit, but do offer what will likely be the most effective component of pain relief in this chain.
You can read more about other options in our best products for period pain relief round-up. The Myoovi was our pick of the bunch, for its easy-to-use, cable-free design, and reasonable £60 price.
It is a large surface area TENS machine that comes in three flesh-tone colours, and uses sticky butterfly pads to attach directly to your tummy.
