# Qvin

> Qvin (Qurasense, Inc.) is a women’s health diagnostics company founded at Stanford by Sara Naseri, MD, and Søren Therkelsen. It makes the Q-Pad, an FDA-cleared menstrual pad with a removable Q-Strip that collects menstrual blood at home as a dried sample, and runs the end-to-end system around it: the Qvin app, logistics, lab software (Samples), manufacturing and research into what menstrual blood can reveal.

Key facts:
- The Q-Pad Test System is FDA cleared under 510(k) K231465 (Class II, product code QZG, 21 CFR 862.1675 menstrual blood collection device). The Q-Pad A1c Test is cleared for monitoring long-term blood sugar control in women with diabetes. It is not for diagnosing or screening for diabetes.
- The Q-Pad Kit is CE and UKCA marked. Qvin operates an ISO 13485-compliant quality system and its own laboratory, Qvin Labs, in Menlo Park, California.
- Menstrual blood contains systemic blood, vaginal fluid and shed endometrial tissue. For validated analytes it reads like venous blood (HbA1c r = 0.96; TSH 0.94; AMH 0.94; FSH 0.91; LH 0.91). It is a valid additional sample type, not a universal replacement for venous blood, swabs or biopsy.
- When collected within two months, the Q-Pad found high-risk HPV in 43 of 46 women (93.5%) whose clinician-collected cervical sample was positive; 78 of 83 respondents (94%) said they would prefer the pad. The EQUIP clinical trial (NCT07281599) is evaluating Q-Pad HPV testing for cervical precancer.
- Women can take part in Qvin research at https://research.qvin.com (United States, United Kingdom, Denmark).

## Platform
- [Platform overview](https://qvin.com/platform): the Qvin Platform, nine steps from order to biobank
- [Step 1: Order](https://qvin.com/platform/order): Study teams, physicians and patients order kits through our APIs. Every order names the receiver, the address and the panels.
- [Step 2: Manufacturing](https://qvin.com/platform/manufacturing): Kits are assembled in our FDA-registered facility, under an ISO 13485-compliant quality system, and released to ordering with the correct shipping labels.
- [Step 3: Shipping kits](https://qvin.com/platform/shipping-kits): The right kit reaches the right person at the right time.
- [Step 4: Q-Pad Collection](https://qvin.com/platform/q-pad-kit): One step at home. The Q-Pad collects while it is worn, and the app registers the kit and guides every step.
- [Step 5: Ship to the lab](https://qvin.com/platform/ship-to-lab): The Q-Strip Container keeps the sample secure and stable for the long term. A pouch with a shipping label for the laboratory is included, so it travels by ordinary mail, no cold chain.
- [Step 6: Evaluate the sample](https://qvin.com/platform/samples): Every kit is evaluated the same way: checked against defined criteria, with every Q-Strip photographed in the Samples App.
- [Step 7: Prepare](https://qvin.com/platform/sample-preparation): Preps are created with a unique ID on every tube, and the region of the Q-Strip used is documented.
- [Step 8: Analyze](https://qvin.com/platform/analyze): A growing set of validated assays, across a broad range of analytical methods: clinical chemistry, immunoassays, DNA, RNA, proteins and more. Every result returns to the same sample record.
- [Step 9: Biobank](https://qvin.com/platform/biobank): Remaining material is stored with a complete sample manifest: where it came from, what it has been tested for and how much is left.

## Science
- [Science](https://qvin.com/science): overview of the evidence on menstrual blood diagnostics and how Qvin treats it
- [Menstrual blood](https://qvin.com/science/menstrual-blood): what menstrual blood is and what it can reveal
- [Publications](https://qvin.com/science/publications): Qvin research and the wider literature

## Publications
- [Epigenetic age profiling of menstrual blood collected using long-term stored Q-Pads](https://qvin.com/science/publications/epigenetic-age-stored-q-pads-2026): Research Square (preprint) 2026 (Preprint)
- [Concordance of hemoglobin A1c and reproductive hormone levels in menstrual and venous blood](https://qvin.com/science/publications/hba1c-hormones-menstrual-venous-blood-2024): F&S Reports 2024
- [Screening for High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Using Passive, Self-Collected Menstrual Blood](https://qvin.com/science/publications/hpv-self-collected-menstrual-blood-2022): Obstetrics & Gynecology 2022
- [Novel use of menstrual blood for monitoring glycaemic control in patients with diabetes: a proof-of-concept study](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-blood-hba1c-diabetes-2022): BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health 2022
- [Comparative Assessment of Serum versus Menstrual Blood for Diagnostic Purposes: A Pilot Study](https://qvin.com/science/publications/serum-versus-menstrual-blood-pilot-2019): Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Medicine 2019
- [A cross-sectional study comparing the inflammatory profile of menstrual effluent vs. peripheral blood](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-effluent-inflammatory-profile-2023): Health Science Reports 2023
- [Differences in menstrual cytokine profiles of women with and without symptomatic uterine fibroids](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-cytokines-uterine-fibroids-2023): F&S Science 2023
- [Testing menstrual blood for human papillomavirus during cervical cancer screening in China: cross sectional population based study](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-blood-hpv-cervical-screening-china-2026): BMJ 2026
- [Feasibility and Accuracy of Menstrual Blood Testing for High-risk Human Papillomavirus Detection With Capture Sequencing](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-blood-hpv-sanitary-pads-2021): JAMA Network Open 2021
- [Menstrual blood serum extracellular vesicles reveal novel molecular biomarkers and potential endotypes of unexplained infertility](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-extracellular-vesicles-unexplained-infertility-2025): Scientific Reports 2025
- [Potential Role of Menstrual Fluid-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicle Proteins in Endometriosis Pathogenesis](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-fluid-vesicle-proteins-endometriosis-2025): Journal of Extracellular Vesicles 2025
- [Diagnostic Value of Menstrual Blood Lipidomics in Endometriosis: A Pilot Study](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-blood-lipidomics-endometriosis-2024): Biomolecules 2024
- [Gene expression of aromatase, SF-1, and HSD17B2 in menstrual blood as noninvasive diagnostic biomarkers for endometriosis](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-blood-gene-expression-endometriosis-2024): European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology 2024
- [DIA-based analysis of the menstrual blood proteome identifies association between CXCL5 and IL1RN and endometriosis](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-blood-proteome-endometriosis-2023): Journal of Proteomics 2023
- [Analysis of menstrual effluent: diagnostic potential for endometriosis](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-effluent-endometriosis-2018): Molecular Medicine 2018
- [Menstrual blood closely resembles the uterine immune micro-environment and is clearly distinct from peripheral blood](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-blood-uterine-immune-environment-2014): Human Reproduction 2014
- [The cytokine profile of menstrual blood](https://qvin.com/science/publications/cytokine-profile-menstrual-blood-2021): Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica 2021
- [Proteomic Analysis of Menstrual Blood](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-blood-proteomics-2012): Molecular & Cellular Proteomics 2012
- [“Well, that Was Pretty Clever!” Ethnic Minority Women’s Views on HPV Self-Sampling Devices for Cervical Cancer Screening: Attitudes to Brushes, First-Void Urine, and Menstrual Blood Devices](https://qvin.com/science/publications/hpv-self-sampling-views-denmark-2025): Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 2025
- [Single-cell analysis of menstrual endometrial tissues defines phenotypes associated with endometriosis](https://qvin.com/science/publications/single-cell-menstrual-tissue-endometriosis-2022): BMC Medicine 2022
- [Menstrual Effluent Provides a Novel Diagnostic Window on the Pathogenesis of Endometriosis](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-effluent-decidualization-endometriosis-2020): Frontiers in Reproductive Health 2020
- [Menstrual Blood Human Papillomavirus DNA and TAP1 Gene Polymorphisms as Potential Biomarkers for Screening and Monitoring of Cervical Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-blood-hpv-cervical-lesions-2018): The Journal of Infectious Diseases 2018
- [Menstrual pad, a cervical cancer screening tool, a population-based study in rural India](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-pad-cervical-screening-india-2018): European Journal of Cancer Prevention 2018
- [Diagnostic accuracy of self-collected menstrual blood for high-risk human papillomavirus testing for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-blood-hpv-meta-analysis-2026): Frontiers in Microbiology 2026
- [HPV Detection in Clinician-Collected, Self-Collected Vagina, Urine, and Menstrual Blood Samples](https://qvin.com/science/publications/hpv-menstrual-blood-versus-vaginal-urine-2026): Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease 2026
- [Menstruation: science and society](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstruation-science-and-society-2020): American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2020
- [Menstrual Effluent in the Pathogenesis and Diagnosis of Endometriosis: A Systematic Review](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-effluent-endometriosis-systematic-review-2026): Diagnostics 2026
- [Inflammatory Mechanisms of Dysmenorrhea: Novel Insights From Menstrual Effluent in an Adolescent Cohort](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-effluent-period-pain-adolescents-2025): BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology 2025
- [Detection of endometrial cancer using tampon-based collection and methylated DNA markers](https://qvin.com/science/publications/tampon-dna-methylation-endometrial-cancer-2023): Gynecologic Oncology 2023
- [Menstrual fluid endometrial stem/progenitor cell and supernatant protein content: cyclical variation and indicative range](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-fluid-cycle-to-cycle-variation-2021): Human Reproduction 2021
- [Menstrual Blood as a Non-Invasive Alternative for Monitoring Vitamin Levels](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-blood-vitamin-levels-2024): Journal of Clinical Medicine 2024
- [DNA-based cell typing in menstrual effluent identifies cell type variation by sample collection method: toward noninvasive biomarker development for women’s health](https://qvin.com/science/publications/menstrual-effluent-cell-types-collection-method-2025): Epigenetics 2025
- [Evaluation of a Modified Sanitary Napkin as a Sample Self-Collection Device for the Detection of Genital Chlamydial Infection in Women](https://qvin.com/science/publications/sanitary-napkin-chlamydia-testing-2001): Journal of Clinical Microbiology 2001

## Company
- [About Qvin](https://qvin.com/company)
- [Press](https://qvin.com/company/press)
- [Contact](https://qvin.com/contact): partnerships, research collaboration, press and kit help. hello@qvin.com

## Optional
- [Full text for AI assistants](https://qvin.com/llms-full.txt)
- [Help for kit users](https://qvin.com/help)