Can Wrist-Worn Medical Devices Correctly Identify Ovulation?

• Published in: Sensors
• Main Authors: Angela Niggli, Martina Rothenbühler, Maike Sachs, Brigitte Leeners
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2023-12-01
• Subjects: fertility; menstrual cycle; ovulation; wearable; sensor
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/24/9730
• ISSN: 1424-8220

(1) Background: Hormonal fluctuations across the menstrual cycle lead to multiple changes in physiological parameters such as body temperature, cardiovascular function, respiratory rate and perfusion. Electronic wearables analyzing those parameters might present a convenient alternative to urinary ovulation tests for predicting the fertile window. (2) Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study including women aged 18–45 years without current hormonal therapy who used a wrist-worn medical device and urinary ovulation tests for a minimum of three cycles. We analyzed the accuracy of both the retrospective and prospective algorithms using a generalized linear mixed-effects model. The findings were compared to real-world data from bracelet users who also reported urinary ovulation tests. (3) Results: A total of 61 study participants contributing 205 cycles and 6081 real-life cycles from 3268 bracelet users were included in the analysis. The mean error in identifying ovulation with the wrist-worn medical device retrospective algorithm in the clinical study was 0.31 days (95% CI −0.13 to 0.75). The retrospective algorithm identified 75.4% of fertile days, and the prospective algorithm identified 73.8% of fertile days correctly within the pre-specified equivalence limits (±2 days). The quality of the retrospective algorithm in the clinical study could be confirmed by real-world data. (4) Conclusion: Our data indicate that wearable sensors may be used to accurately detect the periovulatory period.