Researchers Develop App That Accurately Determines Sperm Quality (scientificamerican.com)

New submitter omaha393 writes: A team of researchers at Harvard Medical School have developed a point-of-care microfluidic detector capable of determining sperm quality using the simple device and a standard smartphone. Typical male fertility screens require a team of trained laboratory professionals and a screening process taking days to weeks and incurring high costs. The alternative home sperm measuring kits rely on chemical probes and only give measurements of quantity, not quality.The new method offers an easier, cheaper approach, with processing time taking about 5 seconds with no sample processing or wash steps required. The team found their device meets WHO guidelines with 98% accuracy of sperm quality measurements and is comparable to clinical results. The new device uses 35 microliters of sample to accurately measure both concentration and motility at a manufacturing cost of less than $5 per device. The device must still undergo FDA evaluations before being available to consumers, and the technology has yet to be named. The results of the study were published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Further reading: NPR, Ars Technica, Scientific American

Comments

App?

[blueshift_1]

Let's just fix this title. Researchers Develop [Smartphone Peripheral] That Accurately Determines Sperm Quality. There we go. Clearly, the companion app for this product is just some basic analysis and display. The real exciting part is an inexpensive peripheral that can do the job at a much lower barrier of entry.