Nearly 10 million women experience hot flushes in the UK alone. With 1 in 3 women suffering, the duration and severity of symptoms vary from woman to woman. A practical solution could be Grace. It is a wearable tech device that combats undated menopausal hot flashes.
The Grace wearable bracelet, designed by Peter Astbury, is all about making menopause more comfortable for the individual. It is the first automated tracking and cooling device for women experiencing menopausal hot flushes. Designed as part of Astbury’s final year studying Industrial Design and Technology at Loughborough Design School, the invention combats hot flashes by using localised cooling in a wrist-worn device; debilitating hot flushes are countered day and night.
The bracelet has three sensors that detect a hot flush around one minute before the user becoming aware of it. At this point, a localised cooling mechanism is triggered, comprising a Peltier Module (Thermoelectric Chip). This intense cooling sensation on the wrist sends a signal to the brain. The body’s reaction acts opposite way to a hot flush, thereby countering the event.
Announced as UK Runner up in the James Dyson Award 2017, the Grace wearable device not only promises to solve a deeply uncomfortable, embarrassing and inconvenient problem, it also offers users the choice to customise their device to their liking.
Showing great potential, I have high hopes for Grace. It seems like it has the right tech ingredients to become the ideal sidekick for women going through what my mum calls ‘the change’. Price and availability are yet to be released.
Founding editor-in-chief of FashNerd.com, Muchaneta is currently one of the leading influencers writing about the merger of fashion with technology and wearable technology. She has also given talks at Premiere Vision, Munich Fabric Start and Pure London, to name a few. Besides working as a fashion innovation consultant for various fashion companies like LVMH Atelier, Muchaneta has also contributed to Vogue Business, is a senior contributor at The Interline and an associate lecturer at London College of Fashion, UAL.