Empowering Women’s Health: Inside ELEN MedTech’s Mission to Rewrite the Endometriosis Journey
Bailey Thomas
Worldwide, over 400 million women are affected by endometriosis, and at present, there is no cure and no known cause, representing a significant unmet clinical need to support the experience of those affected by this chronic disease.
On a mission to shorten the seven-year diagnostic journey faced by women with superficial peritoneal endometriosis (SPE), MedTech Actuator Accelerator Australia Cohort 10 participant, ELEN MedTech, empowers clinicians with a non-invasive, early detection tool designed to transform the lives of millions worldwide. Their hardware and software solution integrates into clinical workflows to enable early detection and lesion mapping, striving to transform diagnostic outcomes for SPE sufferers.
The ELEN Medtech team brings together a wide breadth of expertise spanning entrepreneurship, research and development, and clinical insights from a career in nursing and supporting operating theatres. Founders Charlotte Thomas, Fernando Gargollo, Jayde Wang, and Charlotte Jones unite diverse skills to turn complex healthcare challenges into practical, technology-driven solutions.
Joining the Accelerator after completing BioDesign Innovation at the University of Melbourne, the team had completed significant market validation and progressed their technology towards a proof of concept. ELEN Medtech made significant strides over the six-month program, securing a place in the Blackbird Giants program and winning both the Startmate Launch Club and The Startup Network pitch competitions.
The team also received a $10,000 grant from the Stephen Ho Foundation and created four new roles within the organisation. Alongside these achievements, they strengthened the business’s foundations for growth by establishing key corporate structures, including trusts and corporate trustees, and developing an investor-ready data room that transformed academic research into compelling investment materials.
As the program culminates, ELEN Medtech are working towards the development of version 2.0 of their software alongside a development roadmap for the proof-of-concept (POC) patient prototype. In addition, the team will look to launch a pre-seed fundraising round with a target of AU$850,000 to provide a platform for solid growth, ensuring their technology can meet the needs of the thousands of women around the world who suffer from superficial peritoneal endometriosis.
"We felt understood in a way we hadn't so far. In an age where AI companies can be built, scaled and sold in months, having a program that understands the complexities and challenges of health/medtech gave us the tools we needed to keep going. Movement is traction, and for our industry this does not necessarily mean shipping products or cutting corners." – Fernando Gargollo - Founder and CEO
Driving the future of Australia’s healthcare innovation
Together, these ventures represent the future of MedTech innovation, where science, compassion, and collaboration intersect to create meaningful change. By nurturing visionary founders and empowering bold ideas, the MedTech Accelerator continues to drive Australia’s position as a global leader in human-centered healthcare technology.
Are you driving an early-stage MedTech, BioTech, or HealthTech venture and aiming to successfully bring your innovation to market? Read more about the MedTech Actuator Accelerator program and how we can help founders like you navigate the complexities of healthcare commercialisation here.
The MedTech Actuator Accelerator Australia is supported by Innovation Victoria.