Swim Good? New App Tests Infertility In Men

Unsure whether your swimmers are winners? There’s an app for that! Scientists from Shafiee Laboratory at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School have developed a device that helps with infertility by being attached to a smartphone to analyze sperm quality and count, reports say.

Per research, nearly about one-third of infertility cases are tied to sperm abnormalities, according to the American Pregnancy Association (APA). That’s 1 out of every 6 couples!

RELATED: Tips For Boosting Diet Quality During Conception (For Men and Women)

What causes infertility in men?

Although there’s still much research to be performed surrounding sperm, experts point to four main causes of infertility in males:

• A hypothalamic or pituitary disorder (1-2%)
• Gonad disorder (30-40%)
• Sperm transport disorder (10-20%)
• Unknown causes (40-50%)

Meanwhile, sperm abnormalities, low count or lack of sperm and ejaculation problems, may be caused by one or more of the following (per the APA):

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• Inflammation of the testicles
• Abnormally developed testicles
• A pre-existing genetic condition
• Alcohol, tobacco or drug use
• Hormone disorders
• Exposure to poisonous chemicals or radiation
• Wearing restrictive underwear
• Injury to the groin area
• Premature ejaculation
• Retrograde ejaculation, which occurs when the semen is forced back into the bladder
• Erection dysfunctions

“Infertility affects an estimated 15% of couples globally, amounting to 48.5 million couples. Males are found to be solely responsible for 20-30% of infertility cases and contribute to 50% of cases overall,” a 2015 study, published in BioMed Central, states.

So, How Does It Work?

Using the phone’s camera lens, an accessory case, and a disposable kit, a chip is inserted into the smartphone which collects

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.

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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.