Finland-based smart ring company Oura has partnered with period tracking and reproductive health app Clue to integrate the biometric data collected by the Oura Ring into the Clue app.
As part of the integration, the data collected by the Oura Ring will be used by the Clue iOS app for temperature trend tracking. As per Clue, the partnership was pursued following user research and a survey involving 1,300 of its community members, which showed that body temperature was the ‘most valuable’ biometric marker to be integrated into the Clue app.
The wearable tech market has been experiencing exponential growth in recent years. The market is forecasted to grow from being worth approximately $27bn in 2019, to $64bn by 2024 as per GlobalData analysis.
“Being able to seamlessly track and see temperature trends within the context of other cycle data in the Clue app can offer helpful insight into your body’s unique patterns,” said Clue’s chief product officer Rhiannon White.
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“After rigorous testing, our science and product teams found the continuous temperature measurement by Oura Ring on the underside of the finger offered a holistic view of temperature fluctuations in the body throughout the cycle.”
Temperature tracking options integrations have previously been used by other women’s health apps. In September, the Natural Cycles birth control app partnered with Apple to offer daily hormone-driven temperature changes to assess the user’s fertility.
The anonymised data from the Clue app, with the participant’s permission, is also used in clinical research into menstrual and reproductive health. One of the priority research areas for Clue is perimenopausal research. To that end, the company has also launched a ‘premenopausal mode’ into its app to assist women with their cycles to better navigate the transition to menopause.
“Our most recent survey found 85% of Clue users want their anonymised data to contribute to research, and that speaks volumes to both the trust of our community and the understanding of the value of our collective data to help close the research gaps that persist in female health,” said Clue’s CEO Audrey Tsang.
Oura and Clue also plan to expand their biometric integration options beyond temperature tracking to include other Oura biometrics such as sleep tracking. The Clue app is classed as a CE-marked Class I medical device, however, Oura Ring is not classified as a regulated medical device.
Other companies offering wearable smart rings include Bontara, which tracks various health parameters, including heart rate, blood oxygen (SpO₂), and sleep quality. It also syncs with continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to generate a metabolic score to better manage diabetes.
