Embryo Project Encyclopedia Articles

NovaSure is a device for endometrial ablation, which is a procedure that removes the endometrium, that the US Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, approved for use on 28 September 2001. Endometrium is the tissue that lines the uterus. NovaSure destroys the endometrium by sending electric beams at the endometrium. Hologic, a medical technology company concerned with women’s health, developed NovaSure to treat menorrhagia, or heavy bleeding during menstruation. Menorrhagia is a common symptom of endometriosis. Endometriosis is the growth of the endometrium outside of the uterus. While NovaSure is not a treatment that doctors use to directly treat endometriosis, the procedure may help alleviate heavy bleeding during menstruation, which may improve a patient’s quality of life as heavy menstrual bleeding is often associated with high levels of anxiety and low levels of confidence.

In 2010, US Congress enacted section 3509 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or ACA, to target issues relating to women’s health. The ACA, signed into law by US President Barack Obama, aimed to increase people’s access to high-quality healthcare in the United States. Section 3509, titled “Improving Women’s Health,” established the Office on Women’s Health within the US Department of Health and Human Services and in four of its agencies, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. Section 3509 of the ACA exemplified a federal effort to improve women’s health in the US by increasing the amount of research and programs focused on the health concerns of American women.