MOTHERS-TO-BE endure the most undignified experiences. The same is true of those struggling to become pregnant. But Shamus Husheer and his colleagues at Cambridge Temperature Concepts, a company spun out of Cambridge University, hope to change that. They have created a device that, they believe, will help women who are experiencing fertility problems to conceive.
When a woman ovulates, her body temperature often rises slightly as the ruptured follicle that has released the egg secretes a hormone called progesterone. Identifying this rise is tricky, though, and usually requires that she take her temperature as soon as she wakes and at the same time every day. Dr Husheer wants to simplify—and also improve—the process. He and his team have developed a system called DuoFertility that will give more reliable readings than the traditional procedure, and is also able to predict ovulation up to six days in advance. It relies on tracking the lowest temperature a woman’s body reaches when she is at rest.
The patch that collects the relevant data is worn on the body beneath the arm, just above or below the bra line. It need only be worn at night, but can be worn the whole time for convenience. It contains a coin-shaped sensor encapsulating two thermometers, a movement detector and a battery. The patch takes the woman’s temperature every few seconds, and uses the difference between the two thermometer readings to determine whether she is naturally warm or is being heated or cooled by her surroundings. The movement detector is there to identify when she is sound asleep.
During the day, the wearer uploads the data collected overnight to a display unit, which is the size of a computer mouse and communicates wirelessly with the patch. This tells her whether she has ovulated, based on any rise in her basal body temperature that the patch has noticed. However, DuoFertility can do more than just record the moment of ovulation. If a user enters extra information into the device, such as the date of her last menstruation and the results of any hormone tests she may be taking, it will try to give enough notice of her next ovulation for her to plan a suitably romantic evening.
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A user can help hone the process of prediction further, if she wishes, by sharing her data. She can plug the device into a computer connected to the internet and send the information it contains to Cambridge Temperature Concepts for analysis. The company combines her data with those uploaded by hundreds of other women so that its algorithms can learn and improve their accuracy in predicting ovulation. Comparing the patterns of different women also flags up any unusual ones, enabling the company’s staff to advise the woman concerned.
Dr Husheer reckons his system of collecting data at home is less stressful for participants than attending a fertility clinic. Moreover, because his software can combine many variables from many women, the results are more reliable than relying on one factor in one woman. Indeed, he is so confident of its effectiveness that his company is offering a money-back guarantee—though not for the cost of all those extra candlelit dinners.
When a woman ovulates, her body temperature often rises slightly as the ruptured follicle that has released the egg secretes a hormone called progesterone. Identifying this rise is tricky, though, and usually requires that she take her temperature as soon as she wakes and at the same time every day. Dr Husheer wants to simplify—and also improve—the process. He and his team have developed a system called DuoFertility that will give more reliable readings than the traditional procedure, and is also able to predict ovulation up to six days in advance. It relies on tracking the lowest temperature a woman’s body reaches when she is at rest.
The patch that collects the relevant data is worn on the body beneath the arm, just above or below the bra line. It need only be worn at night, but can be worn the whole time for convenience. It contains a coin-shaped sensor encapsulating two thermometers, a movement detector and a battery. The patch takes the woman’s temperature every few seconds, and uses the difference between the two thermometer readings to determine whether she is naturally warm or is being heated or cooled by her surroundings. The movement detector is there to identify when she is sound asleep.
During the day, the wearer uploads the data collected overnight to a display unit, which is the size of a computer mouse and communicates wirelessly with the patch. This tells her whether she has ovulated, based on any rise in her basal body temperature that the patch has noticed. However, DuoFertility can do more than just record the moment of ovulation. If a user enters extra information into the device, such as the date of her last menstruation and the results of any hormone tests she may be taking, it will try to give enough notice of her next ovulation for her to plan a suitably romantic evening.
Click here to find out more!
A user can help hone the process of prediction further, if she wishes, by sharing her data. She can plug the device into a computer connected to the internet and send the information it contains to Cambridge Temperature Concepts for analysis. The company combines her data with those uploaded by hundreds of other women so that its algorithms can learn and improve their accuracy in predicting ovulation. Comparing the patterns of different women also flags up any unusual ones, enabling the company’s staff to advise the woman concerned.
Dr Husheer reckons his system of collecting data at home is less stressful for participants than attending a fertility clinic. Moreover, because his software can combine many variables from many women, the results are more reliable than relying on one factor in one woman. Indeed, he is so confident of its effectiveness that his company is offering a money-back guarantee—though not for the cost of all those extra candlelit dinners.