The grand prize in the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan contest went to bluDiagnostics, a Madison startup working to help women struggling with infertility.
BluDiagnostics is developing the Fertility Finder, a device that resembles a basal thermometer. A woman places it in her mouth for a minute and a disposable paper strip inserted into the device grabs a saliva sample to measure the presence of two hormones: estradiol and progesterone. The results can be transmitted to the woman’s cellphone, as well as her physician, through a mobile app.
The current alternatives are over-the-counter, hard-to-read urine-based test kits, or blood tests performed by a doctor, which can be inaccurate.
BluDiagnostics needs to raise $1.5 million, with $500,000 by Sept. 1, to manufacture a prototype. The company hopes to apply for Food and Drug Administration approval for the Fertility Finder by late 2016, and it could be on the market as early as mid-2017.
