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Fertility tracking wearable devices allow users to predict possible fertility windows based on menstrual cycle data...
Digital self-tracking is the future of medicine as it empowers users to monitor and manage their health. Wearable devices have played a key role in accomplishing this vision. Fertility tracking wearable devices allow users to predict possible fertility windows based on menstrual cycle data, which may help women try to conceive or avoid pregnancy. Ava Science Inc© materialized a solution to achieve this ambitious goal.
A Fertile Origin
Ava Science Inc©, a digital women’s health company, was founded in Switzerland in 2014. Its mission is to advance women’s reproductive health by bringing together artificial intelligence and clinical research. After nearly two years of advanced development and trials, the Ava® bracelet landed in the US in 2016. It intends to be a long-term companion for women by providing data-driven, scientifically proven reproductive insights throughout their lives. The company claims that the product has resulted in 30,000 successful pregnancies among users and is now commercialized in 36 countries worldwide.(1)
About Ava®
Modern-day fertility tracking devices like Ava® conjure the prospects of re-thinking fertility issues by collecting large amounts of data that offer new insight into several understudied aspects of reproductive physiology.
Ava Science Inc©, a digital women’s health company, was founded in Switzerland in 2014. Its mission is to advance women’s reproductive health by bringing together artificial intelligence and clinical research. After nearly two years of advanced development and trials, the Ava® bracelet landed in the US in 2016. It intends to be a long-term companion for women by providing data-driven, scientifically proven reproductive insights throughout their lives. The company claims that the product has resulted in 30,000 successful pregnancies among users and is now commercialized in 36 countries worldwide.(1)
About Ava®
Modern-day fertility tracking devices like Ava® conjure the prospects of re-thinking fertility issues by collecting large amounts of data that offer new insight into several understudied aspects of reproductive physiology.
Each cycle has six possible days to conceive, and Ava®, proved in clinical trials, recognizes five of them. The user should wear the Ava® bracelet overnight while the body is at rest. Its high-powered sensors collect data 25 times per second on five physiological parameters while the person sleeps: temperature, resting pulse rate, heart rate variability ratio, respiratory rate, and peripheral perfusion. The temperature drops 0.2°C after menstruation before rising 0.4°C after ovulation. The resting pulse rate drops near 1.5 beats in the pre-ovulation phase before increasing and peaking in the post-ovulation phase. The heart rate variability ratio typically rises in the pre-ovulation stage and falls in the post-ovulation stage. Changes in the respiratory rate and perfusion include a progressive increase from their lowest at the start of the fertile window to their highest in the post-ovulation and menstrual phases.
The bracelet synchronizes with the app in the morning, and this information is analyzed by Ava’s® machine-learning algorithms, instantly showing the results. Both longitudinal vital measuring and analysis allow Ava® to infer changes in progesterone and estradiol levels and, thus, predict in real-time the most fertile days per cycle.(1)
Advantages and disadvantages
Ava® bracelet is an FDA registered, easy-to-use, comfortable, and convenient wearable device that provides comprehensive and retrievable menstrual cycle information. It reduces errors in manually checking basal body temperature and exhibits remarkable accuracy in predicting the beginning and end of the fertile window.The data collected can be synchronized and securely stored in the app with just one click. It also assists women and their fertility consultants in planning start dates for fertility treatment. Additionally, it tracks movement with a built-in accelerometer to measure sleep quantity (duration) and quality (percentage of combined deep and REM sleep).(1)
The most significant limitation is that it cannot predict the fertility window for people with highly irregular cycles, such as some polycystic ovarian syndrome cases. It can also be challenging for people who do not have access to smartphones and Bluetooth or are not well versed with technology. Furthermore, like most fertility tracking methods, Ava® needs a few months’ worths of data to start accurately predicting the fertile window.
Ava® bracelet is an FDA registered, easy-to-use, comfortable, and convenient wearable device that provides comprehensive and retrievable menstrual cycle information. It reduces errors in manually checking basal body temperature and exhibits remarkable accuracy in predicting the beginning and end of the fertile window.The data collected can be synchronized and securely stored in the app with just one click. It also assists women and their fertility consultants in planning start dates for fertility treatment. Additionally, it tracks movement with a built-in accelerometer to measure sleep quantity (duration) and quality (percentage of combined deep and REM sleep).(1)
The most significant limitation is that it cannot predict the fertility window for people with highly irregular cycles, such as some polycystic ovarian syndrome cases. It can also be challenging for people who do not have access to smartphones and Bluetooth or are not well versed with technology. Furthermore, like most fertility tracking methods, Ava® needs a few months’ worths of data to start accurately predicting the fertile window.
Adapted to modern times
With more women planning for parenthood in their 30s and a declining conception rate in older women, it is critical to track the fertility window. Only lasting 24-48 hours after the release of a mature egg, the window to a successful conception is very few days per month. Busy lifestyles have made it more challenging for women to stay on top of these matters. Therefore, consistent tracking with wearable devices like Ava® is the key to helping people with fertility issues and revolutionizing reproductive medicine.