
Yes, you read that correctly.
The Smart Kegal Exercise Aid (SKEA) is a recently funded Kickstarter project for a piece of wearable (albeit, internally wearable) tech that is designed to help improve pelvic floor muscle tone and play a game to strengthen your vagina. Those are the muscles that can become weakened after pregnancies and cause issues of incontinence, sexual dysfunction and embarrassment.
As an anesthesia provider, I’ve been in on hundreds of surgeries to help women deal with this issue. Whether it’s putting in a bladder sling or any number of new devices that have been designed, the surgeon still always recommends pelvic floor exercises to these women to help strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor. The phone-connected game for SKEA, Alice in Continent, is designed to turn these exercises into a game…and I guess to help increase the likelihood that people will actually DO the exercises.
The project reached it’s funding goal and has been taking suggestions for improving the product prior to release. My favorite is the most recent (and obvious) update listed on their Kickstarter page. From their website:
Update #4: More Powerful Motor
“We have received multiple requests and suggestions for potential erotic function in SKEA, so we decided to upgrade the motor power, which was originally designed just to notify users but now should deliver a decent and adjustable vibration. We may also develop specific Apps so that users with different needs can choose their preference.”
So I guess there is a “reward” function built right in for doing your exercises! I love the “…so that users with different needs can choose their preference.” I can’t help but wonder what the characters in the game will do if users change their “preference” to the erotic function. I hope they don’t miss that opportunity!
There’s obviously quite a demand for such a product as they were able to raise over $50k in less than a month. Good for them for designing a product that helps with a significant medical issue that affects thousands of women every year and has a sense of humor.
–Posted by Rex