According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 6.7 million women in the US with an impaired ability to become pregnant and carry a baby to term. US-based reproductive health company Kindara has now developed Wink, an oral thermometer that works in conjunction with a mobile app to inform women when the time is right – or wrong – to get down to business.
Kindara was founded by a husband and wife team William Sacks and Kati Bicknell in 2012. Initially, the team's fertility tracking toolkit comprised an iPhone app designed to help women keep tabs on their reproductive health. By entering details about their body, the app would chart the data and help them understand when they were ovulating. This would then indicate the best times to have sex if trying for a baby, and the safe times if wanting to avoid parenthood.
The company is now looking to build on the functionality of the app (now available for iOS and Android) with a wireless oral fertility thermometer called Wink that measures the user's basal body temperature (BBT). The BBT is the lowest body temperature attained during rest and is considered an indicator of fertility as a woman's temperature rises slightly during ovulation. This data is synced automatically with the user's phone over Bluetooth, and can in turn be shared with a doctor.
We have seen a similar concept before. Back in 2010, inventor Dr. Shamus Husheer developed a wireless sensor called DuoFertility worn discretely under the arm that constantly monitors basal body temperature and transmits data to a hand-held reader to advise on the best time for romance. This solution doesn't come cheap, however, and is priced at US$795 for a premium version.
At $79 Wink will offer a less costly foray into the world of fertility monitoring. It is available for pre-order now through Kindara's website, with delivery slated for mid 2015.
You can hear from Bicknell and learn more about Wink in the video below.
Source: Kindara
