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Innovative Family Planning Option Undergoing Testing in Developing World(ReleaseWire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Washington, DC -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/21/2014 -- Cycle Technologies announced that the CycleBeads® Android app is now undergoing testing in Kenya by the Institute for Reproductive Health with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This patented family planning option is based on the highly effective Standard Days Method ® of family planning. For the woman asking, “When do you ovulate?” or “How do you get pregnant?” the CycleBeads smartphone app enables her to plan or prevent pregnancy by tracking her periods and identifying which days of her cycle she is fertile. It is the only app that is based on a proven, effective methodology that allows a woman to identify her fertile days using just her period data. “The growth of mobile phones, and in particular smartphones and feature phones, offers innovative ways to reach people directly with family planning services and information. We are interested in seeing how this solution will work in a context like Kenya where there is high internet and mobile use, but also significant unmet need for contraception,” says Director for Social Innovation Alexis Ettinger, Institute for Reproductive Health. The Institute is working with iHub Research in Kenya to test the acceptability, feasibility and viability of the CycleBeads Android app and exploring how the technology can be improved for users in a variety of settings. Based on feedback to date, Cycle Technologies has already updated the start-up process to help guide a woman through the initial set up. “We’re seeing that the key to creating technology tools that can be used globally is to keep it simple. Technology must be truly intuitive and integrated into existing channels in order for there to be widespread adoption. The beauty of this family planning method is its simplicity which makes designing a simple app that can be used by women anywhere in the world to plan or prevent pregnancy, much easier” says, Leslie Heyer, Founder and President of Cycle Technologies. The findings from the research are expected to be announced in 2015. About Cycle Technologies Cycle Technologies is a socially minded consumer products company that creates Brilliantly Simple™ solutions to help solve complex global problems. Since 2002 the company has worked with researchers, healthcare partners, and investors to seek leading edge ideas that fit its mission. Under the Solutions for Unmet Need in Family Planning Program (SUN-FP), the company has worked with the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University to create tools that help meet the needs of women in a range of contexts. These simple fertility awareness-based tools include CycleBeads®, CycleBeads® Online, CycleBeads® smartphone apps and the recently launched 2Day Method™ iPhone app. To date more than 3.5 million women in 60+ countries have used these technologies to plan or prevent pregnancy resulting in an estimated 4.5 million unplanned pregnancies prevented and 750,000 pregnancies successfully planned. For more information, please visit www.cyclebeads.comFor more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/innovative-family-planning-option-undergoing-testing-in-developing-world-555794.htmMedia Relations ContactAlev Sezer-JacobsTelephone: 202-730-1629Email: Click to Email Alev Sezer-JacobsWeb: http://www.cyclebeads.com/ |