Despite its importance, there is still an undeniable stigma attached to visiting a sexual health clinic. Unfortunately this leads to high numbers of sexually active people failing to get tested, and the spread of STDs such as syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea. Offering a solution is Hoope — an affordable home medical device, which fits onto the users thumb and enables painless, rapid blood testing for the four most common curable STDs.

When Hoope is placed on the user’s thumb, electrodes within the device will block the sensation of pain. Then they press a button on the ring that causes a retractable needle to draw a blood sample. The ring uses a paper based microfluidic device to test for antibodies. The bio responses are converted into electronic signals and relayed to the user via a companion app. As well as their test results, the app also provides users with information about each of the sexually transmitted diseases, advice about follow up tests and treatment and links to nearby clinics.

A working prototype of Hoope has been produced at Colorado State University and a crowdfunding campaign is expected to launch in January 2016. We recently saw the pregnancy test given a long overdue makeover too. What other medical tests could be redesigned to enable users to perform them in the privacy of their own home?