Blue (Georgianna) Lin

2024

1. 

   Understanding wrist skin temperature changes to hormone variations across the menstrual cycle

   Georgianna Lin, Jin Yi Li, Ken Christofferson, and 3 more authors

   npj Women’s Health, Oct 2024

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   Consumer devices are increasingly used to monitor peripheral body temperature (PBT) for menstrual cycle tracking, but the link between PBT and hormone variations remains underexplored. This study examines the relationship between these variables with a focus on nightly wrist skin temperature (WST). Fifty participants provided physiological and self-reported data, including WST, daily step counts, glucose levels, hormone levels (E3G, LH), and diary entries. Results show a negative correlation between WST and hormone levels when E3G and LH are below average, and this trend was robust to demographics and self-reported stress. Increased variance between mid-cycle hormonal peaks and WST fluctuations may stem from differences between basal body temperature (BBT) and WST. This research suggests that algorithms reliant on body temperature for tracking hormonal changes or other aspects of the menstrual cycle may need to account for increased variance in WST trends if they are meant to be deployed on wearable devices.

2. 

   Users’ Perspectives on Multimodal Menstrual Tracking Using Consumer Health Devices

   Georgianna Lin, Brenna Li, Jin Yi Li, and 3 more authors

   Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies, Oct 2024

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   Previous menstrual health literature highlights a variety of signals not included in existing menstrual trackers because they are either difficult to gather or are not typically associated with menstrual health. Since it has become increasingly convenient to collect biomarkers through wearables and other consumer-grade devices, our work examines how people incorporate unconventional signals (e.g., blood glucose levels, heart rate) into their understanding of menstrual health. In this paper, we describe a three-month-long study on fifty participants’ experiences as they tracked their health using physiological sensors and daily diaries. We analyzed their experiences with both conventional and unconventional menstrual health signals through surveys and interviews conducted throughout the study. We delve into the various aspects of menstrual health that participants sought to affirm using unconventional signals, explore how these signals influenced their daily behaviors,and examine how multimodal menstrual tracking expanded their scope of menstrual health. Finally, we provide design recommendations for future multimodal menstrual trackers.

3. 

   Functional Design Requirements to Facilitate Menstrual Health Data Exploration

   Georgianna Lin, Pierre-William Lessard, Minh Ngoc Le, and 4 more authors

   In Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Oct 2024

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   Menstrual trackers currently lack the affordances required to help individuals achieve their goals beyond menstrual event predictions and symptom logging. Taking an initial step towards this aspiration, we propose, validate, and refine five functional design requirements for future interface designs that facilitate menstrual data exploration. We interviewed 30 individuals who menstruate and collected their feedback on the practical application of these requirements. To elicit ideas and impressions, we designed two proof-of-concept interfaces to use as design probes with similar core functionalities but different presentations of phase timing predictions and signal arrangement. Our analysis revealed participants’ feedback regarding the presentation of predictions for menstrual-related events, the visualization of future signal patterns, personalization abilities for viewing signals relevant to their menstrual experience, the availability of resources to understand the underlying biological connections between signals, and the ability to compare multiple cycles side-by-side with context.

2023

1. 

   Blood glucose variance measured by continuous glucose monitors across the menstrual cycle

   Georgianna Lin, Rumsha Siddiqui, Zixiong Lin, and 4 more authors

   npj Digital Medicine, Oct 2023

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   Past studies on how blood glucose levels vary across the menstrual cycle have largely shown inconsistent results based on limited blood draws. In this study, 49 individuals wore a Dexcom G6 continuous glucose monitor and a Fitbit Sense smartwatch while measuring their menstrual hormones and self-reporting characteristics of their menstrual cycles daily. The average duration of participation was 79.3±21.2 days, leading to a total of 149 cycles and 554 phases in our dataset. We use periodic restricted cubic splines to evaluate the relationship between blood glucose and the menstrual cycle, after which we assess phase-based changes in daily median glucose level and associated physiological parameters using mixed-effects models. Results indicate that daily median glucose levels increase and decrease in a biphasic pattern, with maximum levels occurring during the luteal phase and minimum levels occurring during the late-follicular phase. These trends are robust to adjustments for participant characteristics (e.g., age, BMI, weight) and self-reported menstrual experiences (e.g., food cravings, bloating, fatigue). We identify negative associations between each of daily estrogen level, step count, and low degrees of fatigue with higher median glucose levels. Conversely, we find positive associations between higher food cravings and higher median glucose levels. This study suggests that blood glucose could be an important parameter for understanding menstrual health, prompting further investigation into how the menstrual cycle influences glucose fluctuation.

2022

1. 

   Investigating Culturally Responsive Design for Menstrual Tracking and Sharing Practices Among Individuals with Minimal Sexual Education

   Georgianna E Lin, Elizabeth D Mynatt, and Neha Kumar

   In Proceedings of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Oct 2022

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   Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research on menstrual tracking has emphasized the need for more inclusive design of mechanisms for tracking and sharing information on menstruation. We investigate menstrual tracking and data-sharing attitudes and practices in educated, young (20-30 years old) menstruating individuals based in the United States, with self-identified minimal menstrual education backgrounds. Using interviews (N=18), a survey (N=62), and participatory design (N=7), we find that existing mechanisms for tracking and sharing data on menstruation are not adequately responsive to the needs of those who seek relevant menstrual education, are not in the sexual majority, and/or wish to customize what menstrual data they share and with whom. Our analysis highlights a design gap for participants with minimal sexual education backgrounds who wish to better understand their cycles. We also contribute a deepened understanding of structural health inequities that impact menstrual tracking and sharing practices, making recommendations for technology-mediated menstrual care.