First couple conceive using 'fertility sat nav'

DuoFertility trial enabled couple to conceive using a temperature-measuring device

Delighted Marie and Mirco Martinelli are the world's first couple to conceive using an IVF alternative, dubbed the ‘fertility sat nav’, after suffering three miscarriages in just two years.

The couple, who live in Italy, took part in a trial for DuoFertility - a groundbreaking £495 temperature-measuring device that promises pregnancy within 12 months.

‘I was very worried and sad when I kept having miscarriages,' says Marie. 'The whole world was pregnant and had babies and I struggled to get pregnant and couldn’t stay pregnant.’

The new mum began using the device back in January 2009 and fell pregnant with her son Alec seven months later.

DuoFertility was developed by scientists and fertility experts at Cambridge Temperature Concepts in 2008 and comprises of a non-invasive patch thermometer, which is the size of a £1 coin and worn under the arm.

The device alerts women to the moment their temperatures rise half a degree as a result of ovulation. Women are most fertile on the day their temperature rises and the two days that follow.

Dr Shamus Husheer, who invented the device, said the company was ‘delighted’ at the birth of Alec. ‘What we now know as a result of our work, is that for certain causes of infertility, DuoFertility is an effective IVF.

'For a range of common causes such as moderate male factors, cycle irregularity, secondary or unexplained infertility, our monitoring device is achieving great results.’

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