We know that telehealth startups are starting to rise worldwide, and it is also worth noting that this increase is also thanks to the pandemic, where many people have realized the importance of health right from the comfort of their home. It is worth noting that we have a new startup in this department which is known as Teal Health, and it was founded back in 2020. Teal Health has just announced a new funding round of $8.8M, with which they want to launch their first service in the world, starting from the US. It is also worth noting that Teal Health is backed by the likes of Serena Ventures, owned by Serena Williams, among others.
Teal Health, a telehealth startup, wants to launch its services by providing a service that supports women to collect their own sample for cervical cancer screening from the comfort of their home. The reason behind at-home sample is because the procedure to get screened traditionally is either uncomfortable or inconvenient or both because of the pap smear.
Teal calls its collection service a “collection wand” and says that they have developed this new technology to self collect and mail off for lab analysis. Since the FDA clearance is pending, we don’t know exactly how the collection wand looks like, but we do know that there is a sponge involved.
After discussing the details with her team, Teal’s CEO Kara Egan, said, “This design makes it simple for a woman to collect her own sample quickly and comfortably. The device is inserted similarly to a tampon, the device contains a soft sponge tip which is rotated to collect cells. The whole collection from undressing, reading instructions, collecting, and packaging to send to the lab via the mail should take less than 5 minutes.”
She also revealed that Teal’s collection method will allow samples to be tested for primary HPV and Pap cytology triage. This means that the startup will be able to support follow-on triage of women who test positive for HPV, which is the primary virus linked to cervical cancer, offering full service.
