hurricanemaxi
Joined: 17 Sep 2011
Posts: 83
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 Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2011 3:58 am Post subject: Fertility Chip Measures Sperm in Home Test Accurately |
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Chip will lead to very accurate at home fertility testing
Couples that want to have kids, but have been plagued with fertility issues, have to start testing somewhere. Typically, men are tested first since the sperm is easier to test than a woman's eggs and reproductive system. That leads to guys having to head to the doctor's office in an uncomfortable environment to get tested.
Loes Segerink, a researcher from the University of Twente, has created a small fertility chip that may in the future allow men to test their sperm count and motility in the privacy of their own home. The production device might be similar in size to today’s modern home pregnancy tests.
The chip measures the concentration of the sperm. The concentration needs to be at least 20 million sperm in a milliliter sample.
A semen sample is collected in the center reservoir, and sperm race through the gates to test motility, concentration. [Source: Science Daily]
There are home test kits already available reports Science Daily for this sort of testing. However, the existing home tests are limited because they don’t provide accurate concentration readings. The lab-on-a-chip used in the new chip created by Segerink allows the sperm to flow though a liquid-filled channel beneath an electrode bridge. When the cell passes under one of the electrodes, the electrical resistance fluctuates for a short time.
The number of fluctuations are then counted. The fluid is also mixed with microspheres and the sensor is sensitive enough to tell the difference between a sphere and sperm. The sperm motility is counted and measured using small chip adjustments that allow motile and non-motile sperm to be counted separately.
There is no indication of how much the new lab-on-a-chip costs or when the chip might be offered in an over the counter product.
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