The researchers have launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund the next phase of their project. It reached $100k+ in just two days.

“It’s proof there are people who really want change,” Hoveling said. “There is a real problem here and the current market solutions are not the best.”

This new model, called the Lilium, is named after the lily flower and has a similar shape.

Like a tampon, it uses soft plastic and an applicator. The three-sided opening lets doctors have better visibility during examinations.

Hoveling cited these women, as well as James Marion Sims and his involvement in creating the speculum, as motivation to make her own design.

While the speculum is a necessary tool for gynecological exams, it can be uncomfortable and even physically painful.

"I've received a lot of emails from women who told me they actually don't go to the gynecologist because of this device,” said Tamara Hoveling, one of the designers.

In 1870, Edward Gabriel Cusco revised Sim’s speculum, giving us the model that is still used in gynecologist offices today.

The vaginal speculum is used in gynecological exams, most commonly as part of a Pap smear or IUD insertion.

The first model was developed by US doctor James Marion Sims about 180 years ago and tested on enslaved women without their permission.