ORCHA are world leaders in digital health apps assessment and distribution. MUTU has been comprehensively reviewed with a Baseline Review Score of 92% (September 2023)

Data Score: 80%; Professional Assurance Score: 94%; Usability/Accessibility Score: 97%.  

NHS Digital, the National technology partner to the UK health and care system, assessed and approved MUTU in June 2020: “The MUTU System programme has met all compliance standards, and displays evidence of clinical benefits… including reduced risk of surgery, symptom improvement and mental well-being improvement”  DAQ assessment team, Feb 2020.  

Approved for:

• Available evidence of outcomes 
• Clinical safety 
• Data protection
• Security 
• Usability and accessibility
• Interoperability
• Technical stability 

MUTU System CEO Wendy Powell was selected as a 2021 NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellow. The NIA Fellowship is awarded following a rigorous selection process, to scale high impact innovations in the NHS.

Clinical survey data from a MUTU Trial in partnership with Norwich & Norfolk University Hospital NHS Trust with 100 postnatal patients during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.

Details of the Trial and partnership here and more on the NNUH Women’s Health Lead Physio approaching MUTU at the start of the pandemic here.

Results demonstrated significant improvements across all physical and mental health symptoms, including prolapse, bladder weakness and diastasis recti. 

At the start:

41% of respondents were following MUTU System alongside physiotherapy

Bladder weakness:

• 53% of women experienced leaking
• 17% of women were using pads for leaking
• 35% of women found physical activity was affected by leaking
• 20% of women found their daily activities were affected by leaking
• 24% of women felt anxieties/nerves because of leaking

POP:

• 13% had been diagnosed with a prolapse
• 28% had prolapse symptoms
• 55% of women had experienced DR
• 18% of women avoided sex due to pain or discomfort

Overall Survey Results:

67.27% of 110 women answered all 4 surveys over 12 weeks

Top Line Results by WEEK 3 of using MUTU

• 100% of respondents who couldn’t locate their pelvic floor muscles prior to starting MUTU could do so after week 3.
• 100% of the respondents who reported prolapse symptoms saw an improvement by Week 3.
• Of the respondents who had experienced Diastasis Recti, 87% had seen an improvement by week 3.
• When asked if they had noticed a change about how they feel about their body and what it is able to do, 87% had seen an improvement by week 3.
• Of the respondents who experienced pain or discomfort during sexual intercourse, 61% had seen an improvement by week 3.
•  Of the respondents who said that bladder, bowel or vaginal issues had resulted in them avoiding sex, 65% were more confident and had a greater desire to have sex by week 3.

Further improvements over time

• Bladder weakness improvements increased to 96% by week 6.
• By Week 6, the improvements for Diastasis Recti had increased to 90%
• When asked if the respondents had noticed a change about how they feel about their body and what it is able to do, the improvements had further increased to 91% by Week 9
• Improvements in painful sex symtoms further improved tp 90% by Week 9, and 93% by week 12
• Of participants avoiding sex due to pain or discomfort, 81% were more confident by week 9 and 83% more confident by week 12.
• 76% of women felt physically stronger after 12 weeks.
• 59% of women felt more confident after 9 weeks

Lucy Eggleton,  Operational  Lead  Specialist  Physiotherapist  for  the  Pelvic  and  Maternal  Health Physiotherapy Team at Norwich University Hospital Trust:

“…The trial discovered that many were experiencing other distressing postnatal symptoms [that had yet been diagnosed] such as pelvic organ prolapse, incontinence or pain on resuming intercourse. It has been great to see so many women have found relief from these symptoms through participating and this is a program we are happy to support and refer our patients onto… in a time of such difficulty when so many new mothers have felt isolated and unsupported, we were happy to join with Wendy and the team to offer this program. We have been so pleased with the feedback and results, seeing women restored back to full health and function.’’

Kent, Surrey and Sussex Academic Health Science Network (KSS AHSN) are funding an evaluation in 2022 to assess:

• The return on investment of using MUTU
• The impact of MUTU to help address patient demand vs clinical capacity to treat patients
• How MUTU might impact on areas of health inequalities.  

Real World Evaluations are so called because they help to show the real-world impact of an innovation, accelerating its spread and adoption in healthcare pathways. The resulting health economics give NHS bodies the data they need to make procurement decisions. 

Updates will be posted here as this partnership evolves.

MUTU CEO Wendy Powell is a registered NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) stakeholder, invited to submit comments on these guidelines by the Institute and/or the National Collaborating Centre.

1. Neonatal parenteral nutrition (Feb 2020)
2. Postnatal care up to 8 weeks after birth (update) (Sep 2020)
3. Caesarean section (update) (Nov 2020)
4. Antenatal care for uncomplicated pregnancies (update) (July 2020)
5. Behaviour change: digital and mobile health interventions (Aug 2020)
6. Prevention and non-surgical treatment of pelvic floor failure (Aug 2021)

MUTU is listed on the Innovation Agency Exchange platform, aligned to the AHSN (Academic Health and Science Network) and works with a number of AHSN’s around the UK

Listed on HealthTech Connect platform -‘identifies and supports health technologies that offer measurable benefits to patients and/or the UK health and care system’

Wendy Powell was invited to present a session to NHS and private UK Midwives at the London Maternity and Midwifery Festival 2019. “Non-Surgical Solutions to Diastasis Recti and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction” can be viewed on YouTube  here.

“An intervention to improve prolapse outcomes and bring savings to health services and insurers”.

August 2020 Dr Adam Pollard, PhD MCSM MSc PGCE BSc (Hons) Exeter Medical School & Suruchi Kothari, MBBS, MRCGP Imperial College London | Baseline research considered MUTU as intervention for prolapse outcomes vs current pathways. 

‘’Research presented here outlines the potential benefits of a form of PFMT to support new mothers and reduce the burden of POP… The approach offered by MUTU System improved prolapse symptoms by the order of 39%… Subsequent savings to services [and insurers] … with savings potentially rising if related conditions are considered, eg: mental health and incontinence”

November 2018 clinical survey based on: EPAQ PF, Female Sexual Function Index, Urinary Distress Inventory, Kings Health Questionnaire and Pelvic Organ Prolapse Distress Inventory 6, focused on three key areas of women’s health: 1. Sexual well being 2. Urinary symptoms 3. Quality of life.

The survey was drafted by an independent medical consultant and 906 complete responses were received (out of 3000 customers who had digitally marked at least 6 modules of MUTU System program complete on the app tracker). No payment was offered or given and results anonymised. After following MUTU System for 6 weeks or more:

97% of women who couldn’t successfully locate or engage their pelvic floor muscles before, were able to after using MUTU System

92% of women who had experience bladder symptoms including urinary leakage saw improvement after using MUTU System

88% of women suffering from symptoms of Pelvic Organ Prolapse reported improvement after using MUTU System

89% of women who experienced pain or discomfort during or after sexual intercourse reported an improvement after doing MUTU System

94% of women with diastasis recti (separation of abdominal muscles) reported an improvement after using MUTU System

94% of women who used MUTU System felt an improvement in how they felt about their body and what it is able to do.

The Survey results show both physical and mental health benefits of MUTU without any further costly intervention required by the health services.