Development of a Permanent Device for Fertility Period Detection by Basal Body Temperature and Analysis of the Cervical Mucus Potential of Hydrogen

Abstract

Background: Sometimes, women find it difficult to conceive a baby and others use contraceptives that often have side effects. Researchers have already established the importance of measuring basal body temperature (BBT) and the potential of hydrogen (pH). Method: We have designed and realized a device that allows the simultaneous measurement of the BBT and the pH. We used an Arduino Uno board, a pH sensor, and a temperature sensor. The device communicates with a smartphone, can be integrated into all e-health platforms, and can be used at home. We validated our ovulation detector by a measurement campaign on a group of twenty women. If the pH is >7 and at the same time, the BBT is minimum and <36.5°C, the women is in ovulation phase. If the pH is ≤7 and in the same time, the BBT is between 36.5°C and 37°C, the women are in preovulation or follicular phase. If the pH is ≤7 and in the same time, the BBT is >36.5°C, the women are in postovulation or luteal phase. Results: We tested the contraceptive aspect of our ovulometer on a set of seven women. We also tested the help of conceiving babies by having intercourse during the ovulation period fixed by our ovulation detector. The results are satisfactory. Conclusions: In the final version of our device, we displayed just in “fertility period” if the pH is ≥7 and the BBT is <36.5°C else we displayed in “nonfertility period.”

Can Wrist-Worn Medical Devices Correctly Identify Ovulation?

“…More recently, new technology including wearable sensors has demonstrated that measuring multiple physiological parameters has the potential to utilize FABM methods more accurately than methods that utilize only postovulatory shifts in the BBT [2,5,12]. Most of the current fertility tracking devices or mobile phone applications combine mechanisms of calendar cycle tracking, cervical mucus interpretation, urinary LH testing and/or BBT [13][14][15]. As a consequence, they necessitate multiple active diagnostic measures by the user, which result in an effort that is comparable to the previously available FABM methods.…”