Smarter and Harder
Dr. Elliot Justin
DR. ELLIOT JUSTIN
MD-FACEP, CEO & Founder @ FirmTech, Inventor of TechRing & Clitique
Elliot Justin, MD, founded FirmTech, launching the world-first sextech TechRing at CES and XBIZ in 2023, which won “Most Innovative Sex Toy of the Year.” This innovative product offers men enhanced sexual health and pleasure through data-driven wearables. With a career spanning over four decades, Dr. Justin has significant expertise in Emergency Medicine, Telemedicine, neuromodulation, and the pharmacology of sexual performance. His impactful research includes four published papers and nine in progress, promising to set new standards in healthcare and research.
The presentation highlights the mission of enhancing sexual health through wearables that track and improve sexual performance and cardiovascular health. It discusses the importance of nocturnal erections as indicators of cardiovascular health, the prevalence of erectile dysfunction, and the role of lifestyle factors like diet and aging. It introduces devices like the Clitik for women and the Tech Ring for men, which provide actionable data on sexual health. Emphasizing the need for personalized health insights, it advocates for regular sexual activity and the use of wearables.
And that mission is better sex and better sexual health for everyone. We're going to go where no one has gone before.
Summary
Mission: Better sex and sexual health for everyone. Wearables can track and improve sexual health and performance. Nocturnal erections are predictive indicators of cardiovascular health. Erectile dysfunction affects 50% of men and 54% of women by age 50. Innovations include a doctor-designed ring for men and devices for tracking sexual health in both men and women.
Article
The Next Frontier in Health Monitoring: Wearable Technology for Sexual Wellness
Pioneering physician challenges taboos and proposes data-driven approach to sexual health at international biohacking event
Revolutionary Devices Signal Cardiovascular Problems Before Traditional Diagnostics
In a groundbreaking presentation that merged health technology with sexual wellness, Dr. Elliot Justin urged attendees at the Biohacker Summit in Helsinki to reconsider how we monitor one of the most overlooked aspects of human health.
"You can't hack it unless you track it," declared Dr. Justin during his Tuesday address at the international gathering of health optimizers and technology enthusiasts. The emergency medicine physician and founder of FirmTech presented compelling evidence that sexual function serves as a critical "canary in the coal mine" for cardiovascular health.
At the heart of his presentation "Smarter and Harder" was a startling revelation: nocturnal erections, which occur in both men and women, function as leading indicators—not merely associations—of cardiovascular health.
"When we say lead indicator, we mean it's predictive," Dr. Justin explained to the Helsinki audience. "If your number of nocturnal erections goes down from 5 to 2 or 4 to 0, you will have a heart attack or a stroke in the next few years."
The Silent Epidemic of Sexual Dysfunction
The statistics Dr. Justin presented paint a concerning picture: by age 50, sexual dysfunction affects 50% of men and 54% of women, rising to 70% of men by age 70. This widespread issue remains largely unaddressed by healthcare systems globally.
"You can't expect the World Health Organization, your National Health Service, or your doctor to help you with this," Dr. Justin cautioned. "It's up to you."
Contributing factors range from common medical conditions like diabetes and hypertension to widely prescribed medications, including antidepressants and antihypertensives—which Dr. Justin informally termed "Clinton cock killers" for their sexual side effects. Environmental factors also play a role, with diet, obesity, endocrine disruptors, and microplastics all potentially impacting sexual function.
"We're all on the road from fitness to dysfunction," Dr. Justin noted. "We all would like to know where we are on that road and if we have a problem, stop where we are and ideally make a U-turn."
Wearable Technology: The New Frontier
Dr. Justin's innovation—the TechRing, which won "Most Innovative Sex Toy of the Year" in 2023—represents a significant advance in health monitoring. Unlike conventional sexual devices focused solely on pleasure, these next-generation wearables collect vital health data.
For men, the TechRing measures nocturnal erections and can be worn during sexual activity to assess performance. Dr. Justin reported that two users of the device have already undergone cardiac catheterization procedures after the ring detected concerning declines in their nocturnal erections.
For women, a device called the Clitique is under development. Tested on 38 women and presented at the International Society of Sexual Medicine conference in Dubai last December, it measures clitoral blood flow and engorgement.
"The urologist right now calls the penis the canary in the coal mine of cardiovascular disease," Dr. Justin explained. "It's just a question of time before gynecologists say the same thing about the clitoris."
Beyond Data: Health Benefits of Sexual Activity
Dr. Justin's presentation extended beyond monitoring technologies to the broader health benefits of regular sexual activity, citing research showing that daily sexual activity can halve cortisol levels, while twice-weekly sex can reduce cardiac risk by 50% in people over 70.
"We talk a lot about work-life balance. We should be talking about work-life-sex balance," Dr. Justin advocated. "We doctors make recommendations about diet, exercise, sleep... We need to start making recommendations about sex."
Personalized Health Through Data
The core argument of Dr. Justin's presentation centered on empowering individuals to become "N of 1" researchers in their own sexual health, using precise data to determine what interventions work for them specifically.
"I'm a doctor. If everyone here came to me in the conventional doctor world with high blood pressure, I would put you all on the same pill," he acknowledged. "And that's stupid. We need to empower you with knowledge that's unique, that you can take care of yourself."
This personalization extends to evaluating supplements, medications, and treatments. Dr. Justin noted that FirmTech users are already testing whether interventions like shockwave therapy or testosterone injections actually improve their sexual function.
The Future of Sexual Health Monitoring
As the Biohacker Summit continues through Wednesday in Helsinki, Dr. Justin's vision of widespread adoption of sexual health wearables suggests a future where monitoring sexual function becomes as routine as checking heart rate or step count.
"People will use wearables to enhance their sexual performance. They will use wearables to find out vital, potentially life-saving data about their sexual health and their cardiovascular health," Dr. Justin predicted.
His closing message to the audience was direct: "Put a ring on it for your health. Put a ring on it to perform better. Put a ring on for your partner."
In challenging conventional approaches to health monitoring and broaching a topic often considered taboo in medical settings, Dr. Justin's presentation at the Biohacker Summit represents a paradigm shift in how sexual wellness might be integrated into broader health optimization strategies—less as a lifestyle choice and more as an essential health indicator deserving of technological innovation and scientific attention.
Part of Biohacker Summit 2024 Helsinki