a man’s sperm sample and magnifies it — in turn, creating an algorithm to track sperm count and motility.
“We wanted to come up with a solution to make male infertility testing as simple and affordable as home pregnancy tests,” Dr. Hadi Shafiee, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said of the device in a press release.
In a new study published in Science Translational Medicine, the technology was used to test 350 semen samples.
It could determine whether the samples met World Health Organization standards for healthy sperm count and motility with an accuracy rate of about 98 percent.
“The ability to bring point-of-care sperm testing to the consumer, or health facilities with limited resources, is a true game-changer,” John Petrozza, MD, a co-author of the study and director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center, said in the press release.
While the new technology is still in the testing stage, Shafiee’s team (who has yet to file for approval from the United States Food and Drug Association), hopes to see it hit the market in a few years.
When to see a doctor
If you believe you are experiencing infertility, it is important to see a doctor.
Even if the exact cause of your infertility isn’t clear, your doctor can recommend treatments or procedures that can help lead to conception. It is also a good idea for your partner to get checked out as well.