SBIR Phase I: Development of an ovulation biosensor

这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的目标是创造一种监测排卵激素的可穿戴传感器，以帮助受孕。最终产品将使生育跟踪和治疗更方便、更容易获得，并且对目前正在努力生育的750万美国夫妇来说负担得起。接受不孕症治疗的患者通常必须在一个排卵周期内访问生育诊所3-8次，以评估血液中的循环生殖激素水平。这些频繁的诊所就诊造成了高昂的费用和负担，减少了获得不孕症护理的总体机会。该项目将开发一种经济、准确的家庭生育监测解决方案。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目提议研究开发一种低成本的可穿戴排卵监测设备，以准确跟踪月经周期中的生殖激素。这种低成本的可穿戴设备将实时捕捉激素峰值。该项目将证明所提出的技术可以持续监测生殖激素，并且与标准抽血相比，所产生的数据具有相同的质量和准确性。此外，拟议的研究将验证该设备在多天内工作的能力。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The objective of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to create a wearable sensor that monitors ovulation hormones to aid conception. The end product will make fertility tracking and treatment more convenient, accessible and affordable to the 7.5 million American couples currently struggling to grow their families. Patients undergoing infertility treatments typically have to visit a fertility clinic 3-8 times during a single ovulation cycle to assess circulating reproductive hormone levels in the blood. These frequent clinic visits create high costs and a burden, decreasing overall access to infertility care. This project will develop an affordable, accurate, at-home fertility-monitoring solution.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes research towards the development of a low-cost ovulation monitoring wearable to accurately track reproductive hormones during the menstrual cycle. The proposed low-cost, wearable device will capture hormone peaks in real time. This project will demonstrate that the proposed technology can continuously monitor reproductive hormones and that the data generated of equivalent quality and accuracy compared to standard blood draws. Furthermore, the proposed research will validate the device’s ability to function over multiple days.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.