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family of ovulation prediction products, since 1983.

OvaCue vs. ClearPlan

Simply speaking, OvaCue's Electrolyte Method™ is more accurate, and therefore provides better guidance for timing conception.

According to the ClearPlan Easy Physician's Manual, its positive signal falls outside the fertile period in over 26% of the cycles tested.

In addition, many women find the daily handling of urine samples to be undesirable.

And then there are those test sticks to buy. And buy. And buy...

One month with the OvaCue was all it took! Since I am turning 40 in two weeks, I felt that we were running out of time. The OvaCue is well worth the cost, especially if you can't afford fertility treatments. Thanks so much for such a wonderful and helpful product.
Becky M., Charlston WV

About Fertility Monitors —>

Compare fertility monitors for practicality and value

You have probably studied various methods of increasing your chances of conception. Perhaps you have tried many of them. If so, here is what you may have found:

Ultrasound: There is no better method than ultrasound for precisely determining the time of release of the ovum. The problem is that ultrasound cannot predict ovulation, only confirm it. Therefore, unless you are being scanned at least daily, you are unlikely to receive confirmation in time to do anything about it. While useful in a medical context to establish whether you are indeed ovulating, ultrasound is expensive and impractical for planning conception.

Blood serum LH: Measuring LH in the blood is an excellent method for predicting ovulation in a medical context. It can give several hours notice of ovulation, allowing a reasonable amount of time for deposition of semen. However, the necessity of frequent blood sampling and laboratory analysis makes it expensive and inappropriate for home use.

Urine LH sticks: After LH has peaked in the blood, it eventually makes its way into the urine and can be measured by a urine LH stick. The problem is, that by the time LH makes it to the urine, it is usually too late for sperm to be deposited in time to reach the egg while it is still viable, even if intercourse or AI occurs immediately. Not only does this method often provide insufficient advance notice, but frequent urine samples are required and stick color changes are not always easily interpreted. In addition, in Zetek's NIH Phase II study, using various urine LH tests, a positive reading was not reached at all in 24% of the cycles tested.

Temperature: You can't beat the price, but measuring basal body temperature (BBT) is useful only for confirming that ovulation has occurred. Again, it's too late. At best, you can establish a pattern to your cycles and hope to guess correctly next month.

Ferning microscopes: Makers of these tools have picked up on the fact that salivary characteristics can indicate the onset of ovulation. However, the accuracy of these products is dependent on the user's ability to interpret the results. In addition, extraneous factors such as stress—and even the process of collecting saliva itself—can distort the results. For more information on ferning scopes, view our summary of saliva fertility monitors.

OvaCue Fertility Monitor: Unlike any of the above, the OvaCue predicts ovulation far enough in advance and with sufficient accuracy to enable couples to reliably plan conception. It offers the convenience of saliva monitors, but provides unambiguous, digital results. The OvaCue (with the optional vaginal sensor) is the only method that enables you to define the beginning and end of the fertile period. When the full costs of other methods are considered, OvaCue is seen to be a great value as well.

Fertility monitors comparison summary

	OvaCue/Cue II w/ vaginal sensor	Clearplan Easy	BBT	Home urine LH kit	Serum LH Assay	Ultrasound
Predicts ovulation	5-7 days	1-5 days1		0-24 hours	36 hours
Defines complete window of fertility2
Accuracy	98%	72% 1	74%	94% 3	~100%	~100%
Confirms Ovulation?
Home use?
Monthly cost4	$32 - OvaCue $24 - Cue II	$425	$1-5	$25	~$75/ test	$125-225 per test

Notes.

1. Source: Unipath ClearPlan Easy Physician's manual, page 23.
2. Defined as a six-day period ending on the day of ovulation. Ref: Timing of sexual intercourse in relation to ovulation. Wilcox AL et al. N Engl J Med 1995; 333(23): 1517-1521.
3. According to Unipath literature
4. Assuming 12 months of use
5. Based on ClearPlan web site.