Ovum Launches AI App to Empower Australian Women’s Health
Australia’s first women’s health AI partner, Ovum, is transforming the healthcare experience for millions of women, offering personalised support and faster diagnosis through cutting-edge technology.
After years of being overlooked in medical settings, Australian women are finally seeing a breakthrough. With more than half of them suffering from chronic conditions and often waiting years for diagnosis, a new app—Ovum—is stepping in to change the narrative. Officially launched on the App Store, Ovum is powered by a purpose-built AI engine called Ovum Brain. It allows users to log symptoms and lifestyle changes while receiving personalised insights based on their health data and goals. It even generates detailed health summaries that users can take to their doctors, giving them a voice and a record in their healthcare journey.
Founder and CEO Dr Ariella Heffernan-Marks said the delay in diagnosing conditions like endometriosis—which can take up to eight years—is unacceptable. “This happens because too often the medical system dismisses women,” she said. Ovum, co-created with tech partner Nakatomi and supported by a $1.7 million raise from investors including Giant Leap and the Alice Anderson Fund, aims to put the power back into the hands of women.
The app has been in development for nearly four years and was tested in two clinical trials at The Royal Hospital for Women and St George Hospital. Feedback from these trials confirmed the urgent need for a tool that helps women feel seen, heard, and informed. Users described Ovum as “everything that women have needed to track their health, feel empowered, and have ownership of their own data.”
One such woman is Joyce Jaio, who was misdiagnosed by doctors after her pregnancy symptoms were dismissed. “They told me I had postpartum depression,” she shared. “Later I found out I was already halfway through my pregnancy. That was when I realised the medical system was broken.” Stories like hers fuel Ovum’s mission to end gender health inequity.
Ovum doesn’t rely on generic advice. It draws from female-centric medical literature and analyses personal health patterns over time. It also gives timely reminders when medical attention may be needed, helping women stay proactive about their well-being. For women like perimenopause advocate Grace Lam, this tool could have made all the difference. “I learnt more about perimenopause online than from my doctor,” she said. “Ovum would have been invaluable.”
The app is now available for a free trial and is just the beginning of Ovum’s ambitious goal—to ensure every woman, regardless of age, location, or background, has access to personalised insights to make confident decisions about her health.
