Breast cancer screening fails most often where access is constrained: limited appointments, geographic gaps, dense breast tissue, and reliance on self-exams that depend entirely on human touch. Awareness alone doesn’t close those gaps.

In this episode, Dr. Karny Ilan, co-founder and CEO of Feminai, shares how physician-led product design, multidisciplinary collaboration, and rigorous clinical trials shaped a new model for breast screening access. The conversation explores a shift in how breast health is managed—from episodic screening to continuous, individualized monitoring. Rather than relying on infrequent appointments alone, it examines tools designed to track changes over time, at home, while remaining connected to clinical decision-making.

Timestamps

• (00:11) Breast cancer risk shaped by genetics and lived exposure
• (08:37) Limits of traditional self-breast exams
• (09:09) Personal experience shaping breast health urgency
• (10:15) How at-home breast scanning detects change over time
• (12:42) Designing screening tools for dense breast tissue
• (17:03) Addressing breast size, shape, and post-surgical variation
• (18:31) Clinical trials revealing real-world usability gaps
• (20:13) Why ease of use affects screening reliability
• (29:29) Access gaps amplified by pandemic-era screening delays
• (38:09) Broad inclusion across age, risk, and body types

Guest Bio

Dr. Karny Ilan — Co-Founder and CEO, Feminai
Dr. Karny Ilan is a general surgery resident at Sheba Medical Center and the co-founder and CEO of Feminai, a breast health company developing an AI-enabled disposable wearable patch and app for at-home breast exams. With a strong family history of breast cancer, she brings clinical experience and patient-centered design to building scalable screening tools that expand access and personalization.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karny-ilan/

Key Points

• Access constraints drive missed detection: Feminai targets screening gaps caused by geography, capacity, and avoidance.
• Physician-led design builds trust: Clinical credibility accelerated adoption with providers and investors.
• Dense breast tissue is a priority use case: The technology is designed to perform well where mammography often struggles.
• Personalized baselines change detection logic: Each scan is compared against the user’s own prior data.
• Usability directly affects accuracy: Instructions, fit, and behavior shape downstream AI performance.

Deep Dives

1. At-home breast exams as infrastructure

• Designed for frequent, low-friction use
• Complements rather than replaces imaging

2. Patch and app workflow

• Risk stratification via medical questionnaire
• Bluetooth-enabled scan uploads to secure cloud
• AI analysis with physician review

3. Designing for every body

• Stretch materials accommodate size variation
• Dense tissue explicitly accounted for
• Additional sizes planned as rollout expands

4. Clinical trials beyond performance metrics

• Usability drove multiple design iterations
• Instruction format affected adherence
• Shape changes required algorithm updates

5. Personalized longitudinal tracking

• Each woman compared only to herself
• Changes flagged based on deviation, not population averages

6. Leadership and multidisciplinary teams

• Engineers exposed to clinical sites
• Patient stories shared to reinforce mission
• Stability in leadership communication protected execution

Links & References

• Breast cancer screening beyond mammography (Mayo Clinic): https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/mammogram/in-depth/breast-cancer/art-20047233
• Breast cancer screening recommendations (USPSTF): https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/breast-cancer-screening

In this episode, Cherie Hoeger (CEO & co-founder of Saalt) breaks down the “reusable revolution” in period care—menstrual cups, discs, and patented leak-proof underwear—and shows how a B-Corp can combine product innovation with a global mission to end period poverty. You’ll hear practical how-tos, pelvic-floor tips, and a candid look at building a fast-growing fem-tech brand while raising six kids.

Timestamps

00:00 – 01:00 | Why disposable pads can’t solve period poverty
01:00 – 04:00 | Meet Cherie & Saalt’s reusable mission
04:00 – 08:30 | From “diaper-feel” to patented thin-dry underwear
08:30 – 17:30 | Live demo: folding, inserting & removing cups vs. discs
17:30 – 21:00 | Pelvic-floor support, prolapse & bladder leaks
21:00 – 25:30 | 1 % give-back, 130 k donations in 50 countries
25:30 – 33:00 | Founder life: in-office preschool & work-life integration
33:00 – 38:00 | Hanky Panky collab, retail rollout (Target, Whole Foods, REI)
38:00 – 44:00 | Packaging that makes periods “cart-worthy”
44:00 – end | Vision: bring Saalt to every girl & end period poverty

Key Points

• Reusable > Disposable – Cups & discs hold 3-6× a tampon, last 10 + years, and slash monthly costs and waste.
• Patented Period Underwear – Saalt spent 3½ years engineering the thinnest, driest tech on the market—now powering Hanky Panky’s Confidence Panty line.
• Pelvic-Floor Friendly – Discs sit in the posterior fornix (no suction), making them ideal for prolapse, IUDs, heavy lifters, and “sneeze leaks.”
• Life-Changing Donations – 130 k products placed in 50 countries; cups keep girls in school and women at work for 10 years on a single purchase.
• Customer “Saalt Coaches” – Real humans (not chat-bots) guide users through fit, folds, leaks, PCOS, endo, and more.
• Family-First Startup – Cherie & her husband built an on-site preschool and a strict 90-minute “power morning” to juggle six kids and a scaling brand.
• Retail Proof – Instagram-worthy packaging helped Saalt hit Target shelves in year 2; now also in Whole Foods, REI, Walmart Teens, and Walgreens.

Deep Dives

1. The Cup & Disc Advantage
   • 12-hour wear, medical-grade silicone, hypoallergenic.
   • Discs allow mess-free period sex and added pelvic support.
   • “It’s not bigger than a baby’s head—yes, it fits!”
2. Underwear Tech & Hanky Panky
   • Ultra-thin absorbent gusset keeps the surface bone-dry.
   • Holds 3–6 pads’ worth yet feels like everyday lace lingerie.
   • Launched on International Women’s Day; sold out first run.
3. Ending Period Poverty—Reusable or Bust
   • Disposable donations create endless cost and waste cycles.
   • Cups + education end absenteeism for a decade on ~$30.
   • Saalt targets eight high-need regions; 95 % adoption rate.
4. Pelvic-Floor & Athletic Use
   • Disc + period underwear combo recommended for marathoners.
   • Cups can even outperform pessaries for some bladder-support users.
5. Work-Life Integration Blueprint
   • Replace “balance” with optimization.
   • Morning ritual: reading, strength training, two mission-critical tasks before email.
   • In-office preschool boosts retention & gender equity.
6. Future Vision
   • Global accessibility—“Saalt in every country.”
   • Scale 1 % give-back to eradicate period poverty.
   • Keep innovating where stigma once stalled progress (packaging, education, tech).

Notable Quotes

• “Period poverty will never be solved by disposable products.” – Cherie Hoger
• “We’re not selling pads or cups—we’re selling confidence.”
• “A cup in your purse means no more emergency tampon runs.”

Find Saalt: saalt.com | Amazon | Target | Whole Foods | REI | Walmart (Teen line)