conception device conception device a conception device is a medical device which is used to assist in the achievement of a pregnancy, often, but not always, by means other than sexual intercourse (natural insemination, or ni). this article deals exclusively with conception devices for human reproduction. types ovulation predictors main article: fertility awareness there are many conception devices on the market today that can be used for predicting ovulation so that sperm can be introduced into the reproductive tract of a woman at the appropriate time, whether by sexual intercourse, including ni or by artificial insemination. ovulation is the time of the month when the oocyte, or egg, is released by the woman. this is identified as the most fertile time in a woman's menstrual cycle. introducing semen into the vaginal cavity during the ovulation time, called 'timing of intercourse' or 'timing of artificial insemination', is important for achieving a pregnancy. where a donor is being used, timing is particularly important because donor sperm which is supplied by a sperm bank or a fertility clinic is expensive and it is crucial that it be used at the opportune time. similarly, where a private donor is used, he will usually wish to supply his sperm for artificial insemination or to inseminate using intercourse at the optimum time of the month. one type of ovulation predictor is a saliva tester. to use it a woman spits onto a glass slide to observe when salt crystals are forming to identify when she is ovulating. the saliva salt crystal formation is known as "ferning", due to the visual similarity to a fern plant under the microscope as the saliva dries. this will show an increase in estrogen that is related to ovulation. there are devices that are like wrist watches or patches affixed to sensitive areas of the skin that measure subtle body chemical changes on the surface of the skin to help to identify time of ovulation. some devices also come with on-line help and support. a commonly used ovulation predictor is the luteinizing hormone (lh) surge urine stick or ovulation predictor stick that helps to identify the time of ovulation. a woman will urinate on an lh surge stick once or twice a day, starting a few days before suspected ovulation. often the stick will show two lines indicating that ovulation is 24–36 hours away. basal thermometer a basal thermometer is an ultra sensitive thermometer that tracks the body's minutest temperature shift. a basal body temperature (bbt) thermometer is often used by women to chart their basal body temperature chart and hence to predict their fertile period or ovulation. a basal thermometer is more reliable and accurate than a simple glass thermometer since glass thermometers are only accurate to .2 degrees fahrenheit whereas a basal thermometer is generally accurate to .1 degrees fahrenheit. the basal thermometer is used to chart a woman's fertile time of the month and is used in connection with a chart. the chart should show low temperatures before ovulation in the follicular phase, and higher ones after ovulation in the luteal phase. using a basal thermometer in connection with a chart over several months should show the best times when conception can take place and enable the planning of intercourse or artificial insemination. however, times may vary slightly each month so that the user will need to check her temperature continually to ensure that she has the most accurate information. for this reason, some women prefer to use the basal thermometer in conjunction with other methods to ensure complete accuracy. artificial insemination main article: artificial insemination there are a number of methods of artificial insemination. various devices may be used including: conception cap a conception cap can assist to protect semen from the vaginal cavity and allow semen to pool against the cervical os. around the time of ovulation, a conception cap or cervical cap is filled with semen and placed on a woman's cervical os for several hours to maximize the time the semen is available to fertilise a waiting egg. cervical caps are designed for conception and are different from the cervical caps used for contraception, although these may also be used as conception devices. a conception cap may also be used after intercourse or artificial insemination by e.g. a needle-less syringe, and serve to keep the semen in place against the cervix. cervical caps are increasingly being used as a delivery system for semen from private sperm donors. they have the advantage over the use of needle-less syringes in that it is not necessary to wait until the semen liquifies before inserting the cap into the vagina, and the donor may ejaculate straight into the conception cap. however, a variation is a conception cap to which a narrow tube is attached through which liquefied or frozen and thawed donor semen is inserted by means of a catheter. the narrow tube is then removed. the advantage of this type of device is that it is inserted empty into the vagina and can be positioned around the cervix without risk of seepage of sperm. this device is growing in popularity because its use ensures that the donor's semen is deposited as close as possible to the cervix, and it can be kept there while the woman goes about her normal activities for several hours to aid conception. semen collectors