Ava unveils first results of clinical trials proving its technology works

Ava Bracelet

Ava, a medical tech company focused on innovations in women’s reproductive health, announced the publication of the first findings from its recent clinical trials proving evidence of a significant increase (an average of two beats per minute) in resting pulse rate at the beginning of the fertile window compared to the menstrual phase.

These findings appeared in the May 2nd issue of Scientific Reports, a peer-reviewed journal from the Nature Publishing Group. Their significance lies in the fact that resting pulse rate can be used to identify the beginning of the fertile window in real time. In combination with temperature and other supporting parameters, the Ava bracelet detects the five most fertile days of a woman’s cycle.

In contrast, other currently available methods of fertility tracking such as LH ovulation strips can only identify the last 12 – 24 hours of fertility, and those reliant solely on basal body temperature recognize only the day after ovulation, when the fertile window is already over.

“In our research, we found that resting pulse rate usually is lowest during menstruation but rises significantly five days before ovulation and again after ovulation,” Prof. Dr. med. Brigitte Leeners, the renowned fertility and women’s reproductive health expert who led the studies at the University Hospital of Zurich, said in a statement. “Ava is the first technology that uses temperature, resting pulse rate, and other parameters, including heart rate variability, sleep and bioimpedance, to provide a convenient and accurate at-home method to identify the beginning of the fertile window.”

Ava’s goal with the research was to find out whether it was possible to use wrist-worn wearable sensors to give women an accurate, convenient, at-home method of predicting ovulation. The clinical study concluded that temperature and resting pulse rate can be used along with several other parameters to precisely detect the fertile window.

The company has plans to publish more papers based on additional findings from data gathered in this and ongoing clinical trials related to skin temperature, ovulation confirmation, contraception and physiological indicators of complications during pregnancy.

In the other news, Ava announced that it will be introducing new features for its mobile app designed for users who conceive, to be used during pregnancy. The update will be available June 1st for Ava users, providing week-by-week, in-depth explanations of the changes that occur throughout pregnancy for mother and baby, as well as information about sleep, physiological stress, resting pulse rate, skin temperature, and weight.

“With more than 50 confirmed pregnancies to date among Ava users, we wanted to add features enabling them to continue monitoring their sleep and physiological stress throughout pregnancy,” Lea von Bidder, Co-Founder and CEO of Ava, said in a statement. “Ava’s vision is to accompany women through all different life stages and this is a major step for us in reaching that vision.”