FemiClock: Non-invasive Tools Development (Salivary and Hair Progesterone) for Ovulation Detection in Heathy Women With Regular Menstrual Cycles Without Contraception. (FemiClock)

June 30, 2026 updated by: University Hospital, Strasbourg, France

FemiClock: Modeling Daily and Reproductive Parameters in Women: Proof of Concept and Feasibility of Analytical Methods for the Study of Female Fertility.

Currently, the gold standard to confirm ovulation is measuring LH and/or progesterone in blood.

However, because confirmation requires a blood sample, this approach is not suitable for epidemiological studies evaluating the impact of various factors on ovulation.

Additionally, in cases of irregular menstrual cycles, there is additional difficulty in determining when the blood sample should be taken.

Our objective is the development of non-invasive markers of ovulation (salivary and hair progesterone) in women with regular menstrual cycles over a period of 3 menstrual cycles. Our hypothesis is that there is a correlation between ovulation detection, using the "gold standard" i.e. detection of the pre-ovulatory LH surge associated with an increase in progesterone during the mid-luteal phase, and the mean level of hair progesterone measured between 2 menstrual cycles.

Various studies have shown that, to be functional, the female reproductive axis requires an intact circadian system characterized by the existence of biological clocks called "clock genes" which are expressed in 24-hour cycles. In rodent, mutations in these "clock genes" lead to irregular menstrual cycles and alterations in the preovulatory LH surge. A quantitative measurement (using quantitative RT-PCR) of clock gene expression in the oral cavity will be performed.

Since the reproductive system is also under the influence of locomotor activity and diet, all of these parameters will also be analyzed using participants' smartphones and connected smartwatches.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

30

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Women aged 18 to 40 years, with a body mass index (BMI) between 19.0 and 29.9 kg/m². (Women with low or high BMI were excluded due to extensive literature showing a negative impact of extreme BMI values on the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis.)
  • Women not using hormonal contraception (or using a non-hormonal copper intrauterine device), or who discontinued hormonal contraception more than 3 months prior to enrollment and do not plan to resume contraception during the 3 study menstrual cycles.
  • Women with regular menstrual cycles between 25 and 35 days, with cycle length variability (difference between shortest and longest cycle) strictly less than 7 days.
  • Women owning a smartphone (to enable collection and transmission of data recorded by a study-provided smartwatch).
  • Exclusive daytime workers (no night or shift work).
  • Hair length greater than 5 cm from root to tip, and willingness to provide a hair sample.
  • Individuals affiliated with a national health insurance system or equivalent coverage.
  • Individuals able to understand the study objectives and risks and willing to provide written informed consent (dated and signed).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Known fertility disorder.
  • Night work and/or shift work within the 6 months prior to enrollment (between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.).
  • Untreated endocrine disorders or gynecological conditions that may affect menstrual cycles and/or ovulation, including clinical hyperandrogenism.
  • History of cancer within the past 5 years.
  • History of severe psychiatric disorder.
  • Current use of hormonal treatment or synthetic steroid therapy.
  • Self-reported pregnancy or breastfeeding within the past 3 months.
  • Participants currently in an exclusion period following participation in a previous clinical study.
  • Individuals under legal protection (guardianship, curatorship, or legal safeguard).
  • Inability to provide informed consent (e.g., emergency situation, cognitive or comprehension difficulties).
  • Desire for pregnancy within the 3 months following enrollment. The occurrence of pregnancy will not be considered an exclusion criterion; data collected during the menstrual cycle preceding pregnancy may still be analyzed, as it reflects a fertile cycle.

Exposure to potential endocrine disruptors will not be specifically assessed due to their high environmental prevalence and the complexity of their detection.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Healthy women undergoing non-invasive ovulation assessment
Healthy women with regular menstrual cycles will undergo non-invasive ovulation assessment over three consecutive menstrual cycles, including saliva, urine, hair and oral mucosal sample collection, blood sampling for reference hormonal measurements, completion of study questionnaires, and continuous monitoring using a smartwatch and smartphone application.
Device: Diagnostic Test: Non-invasive ovulation biomarker assessment - Smartwatch
Continuous monitoring of physiological and activity parameters using a connected smartwatch during three consecutive menstrual cycles.
Behavioral: Diagnostic Test: Non-invasive ovulation biomarker assessment - Questionnaires
Completion of questionnaires regarding menstrual cycle characteristics, lifestyle, sleep, diet and reproductive health.
Diagnostic test: Hormonal blood assessment
Blood sampling for luteinizing hormone (LH) and progesterone measurements used as reference markers of ovulation.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Proportion of women in whom salivary and hair samples are successfully collected to assess the technical feasibility of progesterone measurements in saliva and hair.
Time Frame: Over three consecutive menstrual cycles (approximately 3 months)
Over three consecutive menstrual cycles (approximately 3 months)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University Hospital, Strasbourg, France

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Thibault BAHOUGNE BAHOUGNE, Dr, Hopitaux universitaires de Strasbourg

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 30, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 30, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 7, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 7, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 30, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 8839
  • 2024-A01058-39 (Other Identifier: N° IDRCB)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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