Vol.4 Impli | Understanding unseen hormones through lines

Impli is a subcutaneous hormone monitoring sensor being developed for in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients. This article explains how continuous data can change the medical experience, compared to conventional "spot" hormone measurements.

The official Impli website introduced today can be viewed here.

The era of seeing a teaspoonful of change as a "flow" for the first time

① A teaspoonful of discomfort

The total amount of female hormones is said to be about a teaspoonful.
That tiny amount affects our body temperature, mood, and even concentration.
Yet, we live almost completely "unaware" of these changes.

When I was in charge of investing in health tech companies, both domestic and international, at Mistletoe, there was something I constantly thought about.
Could hormones be measured continuously, without blood collection?

At the time, home testing kits that involved pricking a finger to draw blood were just starting to emerge.
I tried it myself, but despite the small needle, I was scared and couldn't do it properly on my own.

And most importantly, it was "spot" data. Just the value at that moment.

Our bodies fluctuate like waves all day long, yet we only understand them in fragments.
This sense of unease lingered deep within me.

② Impli: The option of an "implantable sensor"

Impli is a small, subcutaneous sensor being developed for women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).

In short, it's a medical technology for "continuously measuring" hormones.

It stays in the body for a 30-day treatment cycle, recording changes in specific hormones in real time. Until now, IVF has involved blood tests at each clinic visit, with decisions made based on the values on that particular day.

Impli quietly re-examines that premise.
The word "implant" carries a bit of tension.
But what lies beyond it is the idea of viewing the body as a flow, not as fragments.

③ The premise of blood collection, which used to be taken for granted

In IVF, delicate hormonal control is key to treatment.
That's why clinic visits and blood tests are repeated.

This structure has been accepted as a given for many years.
However, the body is constantly changing continuously.

We have only cut out a part of it, connecting points with imagination to proceed with treatment.
Because the measurement methods were limited, the design of medical care was also built within that framework.

Impli is precisely an attempt to rethink that "measurement design."

④ When the design of measurement changes

The novelty isn't in the sheer volume of numbers.
It's about how the experience changes.

With continuous data, the movement of hormones can be understood as a flow.
A reduction in blood tests might alleviate physical burdens and the anxiety associated with clinic visits.
For doctors, it broadens the scope for noticing more subtle changes.

From a public health perspective, "what to measure, how often, and how" influences the quality of intervention.
If the measurement design changes, the structure of medical care will also gradually change.
It's not a dramatic revolution, but a quiet update.

⑤ What does technology restore?

I don't want to use the word "empowerment" lightly.

However, I believe that technology that reduces burdens, makes uncertainties a little more concrete, and increases options is meaningful.

The potential of continuous hormone monitoring may not be limited to IVF.
Hormone replacement therapy during menopause. And hormone therapy associated with gender transition (general discussion), in the context of medical care that manages hormones long-term.

In these areas too, the significance of understanding not "points" but "flows" should be great.
As small data accumulates, the understanding of medicine itself will gradually be updated.

However, it takes a long time, extensive clinical trials, and funding for such technology to be actually used in medical settings.

Historically, technologies related to women's health have not been adequately invested in.
Nevertheless, there are people like Impli's developers who continue to challenge the status quo.
In their efforts, I find quiet hope.

⑥ Thinking in the Japanese context

In Japan, in vitro fertilization became covered by insurance in 2022 (with certain conditions regarding age and number of attempts). Nevertheless, the burden of clinic visits and blood tests still exists.

If continuous monitoring becomes practical, how will clinical operations change?
How will the insurance system respond? How will data handling be designed?
It may not spread immediately.
But this question is important.

To understand the female body not as fragments, but as a flow.
That also means re-examining our fundamental approach to our own bodies.
To see a teaspoonful of change as a line.

We may be standing at that quiet turning point.
And how we embrace that change, I believe, is up to us from now on.