Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly involved in healthcare, including pregnancy care, as a Tucson-based technology company works to help improve maternal safety for women across Arizona.
Emagine Solutions Technology, based in Tucson, has developed the Journey Pregnancy App, an AI-assisted health tracking platform designed to help women monitor medical markers during and after pregnancy. The company is now expanding the app through a new Arizona-based study that pairs the technology with wearable devices such as smartwatches and blood pressure monitors.
According to Sharon Thompson, a longtime physician and science advisor for Emagine Solutions Technology, pregnancy is often viewed as naturally safe simply because it has been part of human life forever. However, she said that assumption has never been entirely accurate and that pregnancy complications continue posing serious risks for many women.
Thompson explained that the United States continues struggling with maternal mortality and pregnancy complications at rates higher than many other developed countries. She said the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. reached 17.9 deaths for every 100,000 births in 2024, with Black and Indigenous women facing even higher risks.
The app’s development was deeply personal for Emagine founder and CEO Courtney Williams, who survived preeclampsia twice during her own pregnancies. Williams said her experiences revealed how difficult it can be for women to recognize dangerous trends without consistent monitoring tools. She explained that during her pregnancies she lacked visibility into blood pressure changes and did not always know the right questions to ask medical providers.
Williams said those experiences motivated her to create a system that could help other women identify warning signs earlier and feel more informed throughout pregnancy. She said having access to symptom tracking and health trends may have helped her recognize potential problems sooner during her own pregnancies.
The Journey app allows users to regularly monitor blood pressure, heart rate, and other health indicators. It also includes features for tracking mood changes, symptoms, and fetal movement through kick counting.
If the app detects readings or health markers outside a normal range, it first prompts users to check again. If concerning patterns continue, the app advises users to seek medical attention. Williams said many women sometimes need reassurance or encouragement to prioritize their own health, especially while caring for others during pregnancy and family life.
The app is also intended to improve communication between patients and doctors. Williams and Thompson said the system can help users document symptoms and identify health concerns that may arise between appointments. Thompson noted that pregnancy appointments are often brief, sometimes lasting 15 minutes or less, leaving limited time for physicians to identify issues that may have developed over several weeks.
To help bridge those gaps between doctor visits, the app includes an AI-powered virtual doula named Aria. The AI assistant can answer pregnancy-related questions at any time of day and is supported by thousands of researched medical articles and educational resources.
Williams said the app has already been available for several years and that more than 45% of users reported feeling safer during pregnancy while using it.
The company is now expanding the technology through a new study funded by the Arizona Commerce Authority. As part of the project, pregnant women in Arizona can receive health technology bundles that include devices like Fitbits and blood pressure monitors to help researchers better understand users’ experiences and health patterns during pregnancy.
Company officials said participants are currently being accepted into the study on a first-come, first-served basis.
Source: KGUN 9
