HELT TALKS

What are the 'HELT Talks' ?

HELT stands for Health, Law, and Technology – three broad subject areas that intersect each other in discourses around improving quality and access to health care, or advancing medical research beyond the state-of-the-art. Following on the success of the HELT Symposium, our annual flagship event which brings together representatives from the academia, industry, research organisations, healthcare professionals and policymakers, the HELT Talks was conceived as a year-round (monthly) event, providing a dynamic platform for thought-provoking discussions and stimulating debates on the future of digital health and care, through the prism of regulatory responses and relevant policy initiatives.

What is the typical format of a session at HELT Talks?

HELT Talks sessions are typically divided into two parts. In the first part, each speaker gives a presentation on a specific topic, touching upon particular challenges and open issues around the integration of technology in the realm of health care that require delving into legal and regulatory frameworks. The second part of the session aims at encouraging a deeper level of reflection on the topic under discussion, through organic conversations between the speakers and the audience.

What kind of topics are covered at HELT Talks?

HELT Talks cover a breadth of topics on law, health and technology, ranging from legal challenges for the use of health data and regulatory issues concerning advanced medical technology, to the use of artificial intelligence in medicine, data governance and data extraterritoriality in health care.

TALK of the Month

30 May 2025 | 13.00 - 15.00

Women’s Health in the Digital Age: Unpacking Two Sides of FemTech

FemTech—technology targeting women’s health—holds great promise for empowering users through innovation and convenience. Yet, these digital tools also raise concerns about reproductive surveillance, data privacy, and regulatory oversight. This HELT Talks event explores these two sides of FemTech: its transformative potential and its complex regulatory implications. Featuring speakers from both the industry and legal research fields, the discussion will bridge technological development and regulatory perspectives. Together, they will unpack promises, challenges, and regulatory gaps of FemTech innovations, with a special focus on data protection, inclusivity, and access.

Speakers

Dr. Luana Mathias Souto

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain)

Luana Mathias Souto is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie (MSCA) Postdoctoral Researcher, currently working on the research project "Reproductive Health under Algorithm Surveillance (THELMA)" at the Gender and ICT Research Group at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain. She holds doctoral and master’s degrees in Law from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais (PUC Minas), Brazil. Luana has previously been a visiting Postdoctoral Researcher at the Max Planck Institute in Frankfurt (MPILHLT, 2023) and in Hamburg (MPIPriv, 2024), as well as a Research Fellow at the Weizenbaum Institute in Berlin (2024).

Ms. Marta Gómez Vargas

Radboud University & Clue by Biowink

Marta Gómez Vargas is a behavioral researcher and data scientist specializing in female mental health and behavior. She is dedicated to advancing both scientific understanding and practical applications in the field of women’s mental health. Currently, she combines her academic research as a PhD candidate at Radboud University with her role as an external research data scientist at Clue by Biowink. In her PhD research, Marta studies how motivation and emotion regulation are influenced by hormonal fluctuations across the menstrual cycle, considering neural activity, behavioral responses, and individuals’ subjective experiences. At Clue, she works with health and behavioral data to improve predictive algorithms, educate people with cycles about their bodies, and collaborate with researchers worldwide to close the knowledge gap in reproductive and women’s health.