#004: Dr Tania Boler, Creator of Elvie, The most personal tracker for improving core strength

Many women find at various times of their lives that their pelvic floor muscles are not as strong as they could or should be. Today on the Digital Health Today podcast, I spoke to health technology entrepreneur Tania Boler, who is the founder and CEO of Chiaro, a company with the mission to develop beautiful and bold products that make a difference to women’s lives. Their first product, Elvie, is an intelligent pelvic floor exercise tracker that combines an insertable, sensor-packed device with an engaging app for your phone.  Tania’s going to tell us more about how it works, what it does, and the impact it’s having.   Tania is passionate about women’s health. She spent most of her career working internationally in the not-for-profit sector, before becoming a health tech entrepreneur. She decided to move into the commercial sector when she became a mom herself and realized the tremendous need for better tools and information to establish, protect and maintain pelvic floor health. Through her research she realized that a technology-based solution was needed, and her product, Elvie, was launched in New York and London in October 2015.   In this episode, you’ll hear about:   The differences in how women in various countries are cared for and educated after the birth of a baby. The two main reasons why women don’t exercise their pelvic floors. The three ways Elvie provides an excellent solution to these problems. How Tania navigated the development, design and production processes with her co-founder, Alexander Asseily. Details on how Elvie works within the body and with its corresponding app. Things Tania wished she knew earlier in the development process. A description of the launch in both the UK and the USA. Finally, a special code for listeners to claim a discount on Elvie.  Links and Resources mentioned on the show: Company: Elvie.com Follow Elvie: Twitter and Facebook Press: New York Post article on Elvie Book Recommendation: Lean-In by Sheryl Sandberg Technology Recommendation: Slack.com Chosen Charity: Women’s Health Foundation  Quotes: Tania: “Elvie helps with the mind-body connection.” Tania: “Health promotion is so important for leading a fulfilling life.” Tania: “Women’s health affects 51% of the population but is often seen as a niche issue.”   If you’ve enjoyed today’s podcast, please sign up for our newsletter and subscribe to our station on iTunes or Stitcher.   Follow the show on @dhealthtoday and the host Dan Kendall on Twitter @healthtechdan