The StarFormer Guide
Emsella or IntimaWave: How to Compare Pelvic Floor Chairs in Melbourne
Both the Emsella and the StarFormer PRO IntimaWave chair strengthen your pelvic floor while you sit fully clothed. The main differences are field strength and flexibility: IntimaWave runs at 3.0 Tesla with a seat-and-back applicator and settings tailored to your condition, where Emsella runs at 2.5 Tesla on a standard protocol. Here is how to read the comparison.
If you have started researching pelvic floor chairs in Melbourne, two names come up: the BTL Emsella and the Fotona StarFormer PRO IntimaWave. Both let you sit fully clothed while a magnetic field does the work your pelvic floor cannot quite manage on its own. Both are established treatments with published evidence behind them.
So the honest question is not which one is good and which is bad. It is how they differ, and which difference matters for you. We use IntimaWave at Pink. Rather than sell you on it, we want to give you the side by side so you can read the comparison yourself, including the parts that point either way.
How do pelvic floor chairs work in the first place?
Both chairs use a magnetic field to trigger involuntary contractions in the pelvic floor, stronger than the contractions you could produce with a Kegel. The field passes through clothing and tissue to the motor nerves that control the pelvic floor, and when those nerves fire, the muscles contract, many thousands of times in a single session. Over a course, that builds strength and neuromuscular control across the pelvic floor.
Both are non-invasive. You sit fully clothed for around half an hour, there is no preparation and no recovery, and you can return to your day straight afterwards. That part is the same whichever chair you choose.
What is the Emsella, in brief?
The Emsella is made by BTL and uses their HIFEM technology, which stands for High Intensity Focused Electromagnetic. BTL publishes the Emsella at 2.5 Tesla, and it is designed specifically for pelvic floor strengthening. A standard course is a minimum of six sessions a few days apart, each around twenty-eight minutes, and BTL markets each session as the equivalent of thousands of pelvic floor contractions.
The Emsella is well established and widely available. It is FDA-cleared in the United States for urinary incontinence in women and men. If you have seen a pelvic floor chair advertised at a Melbourne clinic, it is very likely an Emsella. It has published data behind it, and for many people it does the job.
What is the StarFormer PRO IntimaWave, in brief?
IntimaWave is the pelvic floor pathway of the Fotona StarFormer PRO, which uses HITS technology, High Intensity Tesla Magnetic Stimulation. It is a CE-marked medical device made by Fotona. Four things are practically different about it.
Field strength. IntimaWave runs at 3.0 Tesla, where the Emsella runs at 2.5 Tesla, around 20% higher. A stronger field reaches deeper and activates more muscle in the same session, which matters most for the deep pelvic floor muscles that are hard to reach even with focused physiotherapy.
The applicator design. The IntimaWave chair has both a seat and a back applicator that can work together, so the treatment covers the pelvic floor area in one session.
How the treatment is set up. Your clinician tailors the settings to your situation, whether that is stress, urge or mixed urinary incontinence, post-partum pelvic floor recovery, or male pelvic floor strengthening including after prostate surgery.
It is a two-pathway platform. The same StarFormer PRO also runs TightWave body sculpting, so some people pair pelvic floor strengthening with core or glute work as one recovery plan.
More on Pink's IntimaWave covers the pathway, the conditions it is used for, and what a course looks like.
Side by side: how the two chairs compare
| StarFormer PRO IntimaWave | BTL Emsella | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Fotona (Europe) | BTL |
| Technology | HITS (High Intensity Tesla Magnetic Stimulation) | HIFEM (High Intensity Focused Electromagnetic) |
| Field strength | 3.0 Tesla (HITS) | 2.5 Tesla (HIFEM) |
| Applicator | Chair with seat and back applicators | Chair seat |
| How it is set up | Settings tailored by the clinician to your condition | Standard protocol |
| Same platform also does | TightWave body sculpting | Pelvic floor only (Emsculpt is a separate BTL device) |
| Typical session | About 20 to 30 minutes, fully clothed | About 28 minutes, fully clothed |
| Typical course | A tailored course, usually two to three times a week | Minimum six sessions, a few days apart (per BTL) |
| Downtime | None | None |
| Regulatory | CE-marked | FDA-cleared for urinary incontinence (US). Check current TGA status for Australia |
Why the 3.0 Tesla difference matters
The Emsella runs at 2.5 Tesla. The StarFormer PRO IntimaWave runs at 3.0 Tesla, around 20% higher. In practical terms, a stronger magnetic field produces a more intense contraction and reaches the deep pelvic floor muscles more completely in the same session length.
That said, the number is not the whole story. The right treatment for you also depends on your specific symptoms, whether the settings can be tailored to your condition, and a proper assessment. We chose the StarFormer PRO for the combination of the higher field strength, the seat-and-back applicator and the tailored programming, but the most reliable way to decide is to have your pelvic floor assessed rather than to choose on a spec alone.
What does the evidence actually say?
The magnetic-stimulation evidence base is genuine and growing. A 2021 review in the Journal of the Laser and Health Academy examined studies of this class of high-intensity magnetic stimulation across pelvic floor rehabilitation, muscle strengthening, pain and motor recovery, and describes how the stimulation recruits muscle fibres that are difficult to activate through exercise alone.
There is also published case work using the StarFormer PRO. One example is a single case report of an older patient with incomplete bladder emptying whose residual urine improved across a course of treatment. It is worth being careful here: a single case report shows what happened for one person, not what typically happens, and it is not the same as a large trial. We mention it because it is real and specific to this device, not because it predicts your result.
In practice, most people see gradual improvement across a course rather than overnight. Individual response varies, and your clinician will assess your progress as you go rather than promising a number.
So which chair is right for you?
Both are legitimate. If you are already seeing results with an Emsella elsewhere, that is a good outcome and worth continuing.
Our reasons for choosing the StarFormer PRO were the higher 3.0 Tesla field, the seat-and-back applicator, settings we can tailor to the condition in front of us, and a platform that can also help beyond the pelvic floor. None of that makes the Emsella a poor choice. The most reliable way to decide is an assessment of your specific symptoms, because the right answer depends on your pelvic floor, not on the brochure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is IntimaWave better than Emsella?
Both are effective, clinically supported pelvic floor treatments. IntimaWave runs at 3.0 Tesla against Emsella's 2.5 Tesla, around 20% higher, treats the seat and back together, and lets the clinician tailor the settings to your condition, and the same StarFormer PRO platform also does body sculpting. Whether those differences matter depends on your symptoms, which is why we start with an assessment rather than a recommendation.
How many Tesla is the Emsella chair?
The BTL Emsella runs at 2.5 Tesla using HIFEM technology. The StarFormer PRO IntimaWave runs at 3.0 Tesla using HITS technology, around 20% higher, which produces a more intense contraction in the same session. Field strength is one factor among several, alongside your symptoms and a proper assessment, so it is best confirmed at a consultation.
Is Emsella better than Kegels?
A chair reaches muscle that Kegels often cannot isolate, which is why many people find it helpful. It is best used alongside pelvic floor physiotherapy rather than instead of it, because supervised pelvic floor exercise is the evidence-based first step for incontinence. For many people the chair is what finally activates the right muscles.
How many sessions does IntimaWave take?
It is set across a course, usually two to three times a week, with each session about twenty to thirty minutes. Your clinician tailors the number and the settings to your condition after assessing you, so there is no single fixed answer.
Is IntimaWave safe after having a baby?
It is widely used for post-partum pelvic floor recovery. We ask that you are first cleared by your obstetrician, GP or midwife, and your consultation covers your full history to confirm it is appropriate for you and that the timing is right.
Can men use IntimaWave?
Yes. Pelvic floor weakness affects men too, particularly after prostate surgery, and the chair is used for the male pelvic floor on the same principle. A consultation confirms whether it suits your situation.
More on Pink's IntimaWave
If you would like to know whether IntimaWave suits your situation, read more about Pink's IntimaWave pelvic floor strengthening. No referral is needed, and your first conversation is a no-pressure assessment.
