Research Using FirmTech Rings
Research presented in September 2024 at International Society for Sexual Medicine
First Study: Scientifically Proven to Measure Erection Duration and Firmness. This study involved 745 participants and measured 6,875 erections. It confirmed that the TechRing is a game-changer for understanding several common conditions, including:
Title: Erection Duration and Firmness: A Descriptive Analysis from a Population-Based Study
Authors: Gal Saffati MD, Daniela Orozco Rendon BS, ...
Introduction: Erectile function is a critical aspect of male sexual health, governed by complex physiological mechanisms, and its evaluation is essential for diagnosing erectile dysfunction and understanding broader sexual health issues. While traditional assessment methods like self-reports and laboratory techniques have limitations, the advent of wearable penile ring devices enables continuous, real-world monitoring of erections with unprecedented objectivity.
Objective: This study synthesizes data from the FirmTech penile ring to provide insights into average erection characteristics and enhance our understanding of erectile function and its implications for overall well-being.
Methods: This study retrospectively collected data from all patients who used the FirmTech TechRing, a device designed to monitor erectile data, between August 14, 2023 and February 14, 2024. The collected data were de-identified and anonymized in accordance with FirmTech's privacy policy, ensuring user confidentiality. FirmTech's proprietary algorithm processes the recorded penile activity data to detect erections and generate graphical representations, which are reported through the accompanying application.
Results: The dataset comprised 2,446 recorded observations from 795 participants, with a mean age of 50 years (SD = 13.46) and a mean BMI of 27.03 kg/m2 (SD: 5.14). Diabetes prevalence stood at 10.7%, with 11.4% of all patients being current smokers. For recordings less than 1 hour (n=218), the median recording duration was 25.2 minutes, during which 276 erection events were documented, with a median duration of 12.1 minutes and a firmness rating of 8.6/10. In contrast, for recordings exceeding 1 hour (n=2,228), the median recording duration was 7.25 hours, with 5,599 erection events identified. These lengthier recordings featured a median erection duration of 30.5 minutes, a median of 2 erections per recording, and a median firmness of 7.25/10. Histograms depicting erection durations for recordings lasting less than 1 hour and those exceeding 1 hour are illustrated in figures 1A and 1B, respectively.
Conclusion: This study provides an unprecedented, objective look at male erection characteristics in real-world settings through wearable technology, paving the way for deeper insights into sexual health and function as well as improved strategies for addressing erectile dysfunction and other related concerns.
Second Study: Scientifically Proven Safety for All Night Use. We also disproved the belief that erection rings can only be worn safely for 30 minutes. In over 2,700 monitoring sessions, the TechRing was worn for more than 4 hours with 99.0003% of users reporting comfort and zero complications.
Research Published
https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s11934-024-01244-2?sharing_token=9J3rZ-hiKUf56yg-4wzI3ve4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY7HEenQaK5PsK0jJOw-_Ys1rxJfhHxmIebArZAaScSmu4TBXt_bzAVYcyLzCULRPEEyfjRJqioZ50-TxcvEeUWXjpV3oHVM9mk5eUx_yxp2dyIH-KTgryOas6E84EGjA_k%3D “The Intersection of Artificial Intelligence, Wearable Devices, and Sexual Medicine” by Dr. Amy Pearlman, was recently accepted for publication in Current Urology Reports.
Research presented at Sexual Medicine Society of North America, October 2024
Gal Saffati: Erection Duration, Frequency and Firmness: A Descriptive Analysis from a Population-Based Study Using a Wearable Penile Ring.
Daniela Orozco Rendon: Does Having Erectile Dysfunction Impact the Preference Between Penile Constriction Devices? The TechRing by FirmTech was preferred
Dr. Kelli Gross: The Future of Wearable Technology in FSD Evaluation and Management. We demonstrated that our device will be able to document clitoral blood flow during arousal.
Dr. Kelli Gross: Novel Penile Tumescence Monitoring Device Objectively Demonstrates Shorter-Lasting Spontaneous (Nocturnal) Erections in Men with Erectile Dysfunction. Patients with self-reported ED had significantly shorter duration of nocturnal erections compared to patients who denied ED. Additionally, the number and duration of erections have no correlation with subjective SHIM scores, current standard for evaluation of ED.
Daniela Orozco Rendon: Penile Constriction Devices: A Randomized Survey Study to Compare Preferences Between Two Medical-Grade Device; 49 subjects, men prefer the FirmTech device over the Eddie by Giddy with respect to ease of putting on the device, comfort, stretch, and adjustability.
Daniela Orozco Rendon: Heterosexual vs Homosexual penile constriction devices; 49 subjects, homosexual men prefer the stretch and ease putting on the FirmTech device over Eddie by Giddy,
Research Completed - Presentation pending
Dr. Amy Pearlman: Erectile Duration-What Keeps Men Harder Longer: PDE5 vs. MaxPR vs Both; 24 subjects, trend indicating superiority of our ring.
Dr. Kelli Gross: Comparison of penile hemodynamics and erectile function score from FirmTech TechRing. Comparing Measurement with Doppler and TechRing.
Research Underway
Dr. Danielle Velez: FirmTech for Sexual Health (diagnose psychogenic erectile dysfunction)
Dr. John Mulhall: The use of a smart wearable penile constriction ring in the evaluation of erectile activity before and after radical prostatectomy
Dr. John Mulhall: Penis Pumps for Treatment of ED (Bathmate) 55 subjects, Recruiting underway
Dr. Mohit Khera, Daniela Orozco Rendon, Gal Saffati: Real-time non-invasive monitoring of erectile function for men receiving TRT and PDEi5
Dr. Neal Patel, Nahid Punjani: Botox vs Saline Therapy Efficacy for Erectile Rigidity during Sex, Monitored by the TechRing
Dr. John Mulhall, Gal Saffati: Real-time recording of erectile fitness coital (<1h)
Dr. Mohit Khera, Gal Saffati: Comparing results using timestamped recordings with the Whoop, TechRing by FirmTech and Glucose Monitor
Dr. Chris Nelson, Dr. John Mulhall: Impact of TechRing and MaxPR upon couple satisfaction for men with moderate ED
Supporting research
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/genitals-are-window-health-sex-vital-sign-2024a1000iv1 The Genitals Are a Window into Health: Sex as a Vital Sign. Rachel S. Rubin. MD
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8161068/ Erectile Dysfunction Is a Hallmark of Cardiovascular Disease: Unavoidable Matter of Fact or Opportunity to Improve Men’s Health?
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31104857/ Erectile Dysfunction Predicts Cardiovascular Events as an Independent Risk Factor: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/34/27/2034/440049?login=false Erectile dysfunction in the cardiovascular patient
https://www.ucsfhealth.org/conditions/erectile-dysfunction Erectile Dysfunction UCSF
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7994652/ Association between Nocturnal Frequency and Erectile Function in Eugonadal Men with Benign Prostatic Obstruction: A Cross Sectional Study
https://www.bmj.com/content/315/7123/1641 Sex and death: are they related? Findings from the Caerphilly cohort study
https://www.ajconline.org/article/S0002-9149(09)02324-8/abstract Sexual Activity, Erectile Dysfunction, and Incident Cardiovascular Events
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23153075/ Erectile dysfunction diagnosis and treatment as a means to improve medication adherence and optimize comorbidity management
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6958982/ Consecutive nightly measurements are needed for accurate evaluation of nocturnal erectile capacity when the first-night laboratory recording is abnormal
