Our fellow Azerbaijani, Ula Rustamova, has successfully completed the seed funding round for Level Zero Health, a startup she founded in the United States. Level Zero Health is developing a device for continuous hormone monitoring. Despite being just over a year old, the female-founded medical device startup has successfully raised $6.9 million in its initial funding round.
The startup aims to eliminate the need for invasive blood tests while supporting research into new treatment methods for hormonal imbalances, including personalized dosed hormonal contraceptives.
Co-founder and CEO Ula Rustamova believes that this technology has the potential to create an entirely new market category:
“One of our investors mentioned that some startups merely add a wrapper to existing technologies, but we are creating something entirely new.”
She continues:
“Our goal is to establish a completely new market. Just as continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) created a multi-billion-dollar market from scratch, we hope our device will pave the way for new startups in this field and have a significant impact in the coming decades.”
Developing and launching medical devices is a long-term process, and Level Zero Health plans to achieve this step by step. Initially, the startup is working on a single-use device that requires a doctor’s prescription. The prototype has already been developed, and the device is expected to launch next year. It will assist with periodic hormone testing for medical purposes, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and low testosterone treatment (TRT).
The current prototype measures hormone levels through small microneedles that penetrate the skin. The company's long-term goal is to develop a wearable device that continuously monitors hormones like progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone, which is expected to hit the market by 2028. This technology works by measuring hormone levels in interstitial fluid, the medium between blood plasma and cells.
This step aims to shape the future of hormone monitoring and lay the foundation for new medical innovations.
