Shedding light on night‐time erections: Determining the feasibility of nocturnal erection detection with penile transdermal light reflection of haemoglobin

Abstract Objectives Utilizing penile saturation and temperature measurements presents a promising avenue for the development of an innovative sensor system aimed at nocturnal erection detection. This study aims to determine the feasibility of erection detection with light reflection of haemoglobin (LRH), as a precursor for penile saturation measurements, as well as penile temperature by comparison with simultaneous overnight RigiScan measurements. Materials and Methods This is a proof‐of‐concept observational study on 10 healthy volunteers with a cross sectional design. A penile transdermal haemoglobin and temperature sensor was developed to measure penile LRH through real‐time monitoring with receiving photodiodes and emitting light‐emitting diode (LED). Besides statistical analysis on LRH, temperature and RigiScan data, a visual assessment was done to determine detectability of changes in the LRH and temperature course during the RigiScan‐annotated erections. Results A total of 40 nocturnal erections from 10 healthy volunteers were annotated with the RigiScan. The LRH values significantly increase during a nocturnal erection (p