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Researchers develop smart earring to monitor skin temperature
The wearable has shown promise for monitoring signs of stress, eating, exercise and ovulation
University of Washington researchers have developed a smart wireless earring capable of continuously monitoring a user’s earlobe temperature.
In a study of six users, the Thermal Earring outperformed a smartwatch at sensing skin temperature during periods of rest.
The research, published in Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies, also showed promise for monitoring signs of stress, eating, exercise and ovulation.
The smart earring prototype is about the size and weight of a small paperclip and has a 28-day battery life. A magnetic clip attaches one temperature sensor to a wearer’s ear, while another sensor dangles about an inch below it for estimating room temperature.
The earring can be personalised with fashion designs made of resin or with a gemstone, without negatively affecting its accuracy.
“I wear a smartwatch to track my personal health, but I’ve found that a lot of people think smartwatches are unfashionable or bulky and uncomfortable,” said co-lead author Qiuyue (Shirley) Xue, a UW doctoral student in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.
“I also like to wear earrings, so we started thinking about what unique things we can get from the earlobe. We found that sensing the skin temperature on the lobe, instead of a hand or wrist, was much more accurate. It also gave us the option to have part of the sensor dangle to separate ambient room temperature from skin temperature.”
Yujia (Nancy) Liu, co-lead author, who was a UW masters student in the electrical and computer engineering department when doing the research and is now at the University of California San Diego, said: “It’s a tricky balance.
“Typically, if you want power to last longer, you should have a bigger battery. But then you sacrifice size. Making it wireless also demands more energy.”
The team made the earring’s power consumption as efficient as possible, while also making space for a Bluetooth chip, a battery, two temperature sensors and an antenna.
Instead of pairing it with a device, which uses more power, the earring uses Bluetooth advertising mode — the transmissions a device broadcasts to show it can be paired. After reading and sending the temperature, it goes into deep sleep to save power.
Because continuous earlobe temperature has not been studied widely, the team also explored potential applications to guide future research. In five patients with fevers, the average earlobe temperature rose 10.62 degrees Fahrenheit (5.92 degrees Celsius) compared with the temperatures of 20 healthy patients, suggesting the earring’s potential for continuous fever monitoring.
Dr Mastafa Springston, co-author and clinical instructor at the department of emergency medicine in the UW School of Medicine, said: “In medicine we often monitor fevers to assess response to therapy to see, for instance, if an antibiotic is working on an infection.
“Longer term monitoring is a way to increase sensitivity of capturing fevers, since they can rise and fall throughout the day.”
While core body temperature generally stays relatively constant outside of fever, earlobe temperature varies more, presenting several novel uses for the Thermal Earring.
In small proof-of-concept tests, the earring detected temperature variations correlated with eating, exercising and experiencing stress.
When tested on six users at rest, the earring’s reading varied by 0.58 F (0.32 C) on average, placing it within the range of 0.28 C to 0.56 C necessary for ovulation and period tracking. A smartwatch varied by 0.72 C.
The smart earring can be personalised with fashion designs made of resin without negatively affecting its accuracy. Source: Raymond Smith/University of Washington
“Current wearables like Apple Watch and Fitbit have temperature sensors, but they provide only an average temperature for the day, and their temperature readings from wrists and hands are too noisy to track ovulation,” Xue said.
“So we wanted to explore unique applications for the earring, especially applications that might be attractive to women and anyone who cares about fashion.”
While researchers found several promising potential applications for the earrings, their findings were preliminary, since the focus was on the range of potential uses. They need more data to train their models for each use case and more thorough testing before the device might be used by the public.
For future iterations of the device, Xue is working to integrate heart rate and activity monitoring. She is also interested in potentially powering the device from solar or kinetic energy from the earring swaying.
“Eventually, I want to develop a jewellery set for health monitoring,” she said.
“The earrings would sense activity and health metrics such as temperature and heart rate, while a necklace might serve as an electrocardiogram monitor for more effective heart health data.”
The device is not currently commercially available.
The Femtech World Awards is proud to reveal the shortlist for Research Project of the Year as part of the third annual global celebration of innovation, impact and leadership across women’s health.
From fertility science and perimenopause research to regional ecosystem analysis, the shortlisted projects reflect the breadth and growing influence of femtech research worldwide.
The category is sponsored by OncoGenomX, with the winner to be selected by a representative from the organisation.
OncoGenomX is dedicated to offering solutions and providing comprehensive support services that empower Drug Developers, Clinical Researchers, Oncologists,NextGenSeq Diagnostics Laboratories, NextGenSeq Service Organisations, Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics Companies to achieve their ambitious goals
The shortlisted entries for Research Project of the Year are:
Women’s health remains significantly underserved in South-East Asia, with persistent gaps in access, awareness, and quality of care carrying substantial social and economic costs.
This report examines the femtech landscape in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, highlighting market trends, emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, and the evolving support ecosystem.
It identifies key challenges facing femtech founders, including limited access to finance, low awareness and persistent stigma, marketing constraints linked to content moderation, and gaps in tailored ecosystem support.
Led by Stephanie Willson, MD, of the IVI RMA Global Research Alliance, the study explored whether embryos that show certain chromosome abnormalities during genetic testing may still have the potential to result in a healthy pregnancy and live birth.
The research analysed more than 7,600 frozen embryo transfers and found that some embryos previously considered unlikely to succeed were still capable of leading to successful pregnancies, although at lower rates than embryos without abnormalities.
The findings could help fertility clinics and patients make more informed decisions during IVF treatment, particularly in cases where there are limited embryos available.
Rather than automatically discarding these embryos, the research supports a more evidence-based and personalised approach to fertility care.
For many women, perimenopause can feel confusing and unpredictable, with limited research explaining what is happening in their bodies.
Natural Cycles set out to change that by leading one of the largest studies ever conducted on menstrual and ovulatory patterns, uncovering new insights into how ovulation behaves as women approach menopause.
Conducted in collaboration with researchers from George Washington University, Seattle Clinical Research Center, Gennev and the University of California San Diego, the study analysed nearly one million menstrual cycles from more than 197,000 women aged 18–52 across more than 140 countries.
The scale of this dataset made it possible to explore menstrual patterns and ovulation in far greater detail than has traditionally been possible in women’s health research.
The Femtech World Awards celebrates the innovators, researchers and organisations driving meaningful progress in women’s health.
What happens next
Winners across all categories will be revealed during the virtual ceremony on June 19, with winners receiving a trophy and an interview with a Femtech World journalist.
Women over 40 are seeking raves for mental and physical wellbeing, with a study suggesting the benefits go beyond nightlife.
The findings challenge the idea that nightlife and electronic dance music events are mainly for younger people.
Published in Psychology of Music, the study focused on the common misconception that nightlife is only for younger audiences.
Researchers surveyed 136 female clubbers aged 40 to 65 about their experiences at electronic dance music events.
The study, carried out at the University of Leeds in England, found women reported mental and physical wellbeing benefits from attending these events.
Seeing favourite DJs was the most common motivation, but many women also described dancing as a way to relieve stress and find emotional support.
The research found that 65.9 per cent of participants described attending a rave as “spiritual”, while 62.9 per cent said it offered an escape from everyday life.
A further 58.3 per cent said they felt like a different version of themselves in a club environment.
Nine in ten participants said they felt at home at electronic dance music events, with many pointing to a shared passion for music and the sense of community around it.
The study also suggested physical fitness played a role, with some women saying they had made clubbing part of their regular exercise routine.
However, the findings also highlighted challenges for older women in nightlife spaces.
One fifth of participants said they felt visibly out of place because of their age.
Nearly half reported unwanted physical contact, leading some to seek out different venues or attend only with friends.
Osteoporosis may raise the risk of death in postmenopausal women by up to 47 per cent, a new study suggests.
The findings point to an inverse relationship between femoral bone mineral density and mortality risk, especially within certain ranges.
Femoral bone mineral density is the amount of mineral in the thigh bone, which is often measured to assess bone strength and osteoporosis risk.
Dr Monica Christmas is associate medical director for The Menopause Society.
She said: “Osteoporosis often remains a silent threat after menopause, despite its profound effect on women’s lives—from loss of height, poor balance, and reduced mobility to disfigurement, pain, and even premature death.
“Early screening and preventive measures, including a calcium-rich diet (preferably from food sources), regular weight-bearing exercise, and hormone therapy when appropriate, can significantly improve bone health and reduce risks not only of fractures but also cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and dementia.
“It’s time we bring this conversation to the forefront.”
In the study involving nearly 3,000 postmenopausal women, bone mineral density at four femoral sites was assessed using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, a scan commonly used to measure bone strength and fracture risk.
The analysis found that mortality risk was significantly higher when femoral bone mineral density reached the osteoporotic threshold or when osteoporotic fractures were present.
After full adjustment, osteoporosis was associated with a 47 per cent increased risk of mortality.
A stronger inverse association between increased bone mineral density and mortality risk was seen within specific ranges, suggesting bone mineral density could serve as a prognostic marker of wider health.
The relationship appeared especially notable within the range of 0.46 to 0.71 g/cm² for total femur bone mineral density.
Previous research has shown that postmenopausal women face a significantly higher risk of death within one year of hip or vertebral fractures.
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