An award-winning University of Limerick graduate has created the world’s first fully accessible pregnancy test and is now preparing to bring the innovation to market.
Since graduating, Leah Shanahan has begun early-stage development of AMY as a startup, with plans to expand the technology to other rapid diagnostic tests, including ovulation, UTI and STI testing.
For many women, taking a pregnancy test is a private, emotional moment. However, for blind and visually impaired women, it can also require assistance, removing independence from an already intimate experience. It was this overlooked reality that inspired Shanahan to design AMY.
A graduate of the University of Limerick’s Product Design and Technology (PDT) programme, Shanahan did not initially set out to become a healthcare innovator. She began studying physics and maths in 2020 but quickly found the course lacked the creativity she was searching for.
“Physics and maths were so theoretical that I found there was zero creativity,” she said. “In product design it’s practical; you’re building, drawing, sketching. It’s creative, but there’s a lot of engineering too. It was that mix that drew me to the course.”
As part of her Final Year Project, Shanahan was required to identify a real-world problem and design a solution. She chose to focus on accessibility in women’s healthcare, specifically for blind and visually impaired women.
With support from Vision Ireland, she worked closely with four blind women, involving them throughout the design process. Through these conversations, she discovered that pregnancy testing was just one of many challenges visually impaired women face in healthcare settings.
“It gave me a new perspective on how differently they navigate the world,” Shanahan said. “I always had an interest in women’s healthcare, and I am also blind in one eye. But there’s so much in this space that I was completely unaware of before I went into it.”
The development of AMY involved constant iteration. Shanahan explained: “I would develop a solution, get feedback from the women, and refine it to make it as practical as possible for this user group. I initially thought the results could be in Braille, but through conversations with one of the women I learned that most people don’t actually read Braille.”
The final outcome was AMY, a pregnancy test that communicates results through touch, sight, and sound, allowing users to interpret their results independently. The project received strong support from disability advocacy groups, something Shanahan said she did not take for granted.
“It’s always something you worry about when you’re designing for a user group that isn’t your own,” she said. “But thankfully, the feedback was really positive.”
Her work has received national recognition, winning the Product and Services category at the Universal Design Grand Challenge and a place on The Irish Independent’s 30 Under 30 for 2025.
Shanahan hopes AMY will not only offer independence, but also reshape how designers approach accessibility.
“This product is entirely made possible by the four blind women I worked with at the beginning. If it wasn’t for them, it wouldn’t have happened,” she said.
“Designing for disabled people is designing for all people. I would love to see more conscious awareness of disabilities in design development. This product is really going to help people, and that’s what drives me.”