Scientists create male fertility test on phone

A smartphone attachment has been developed that can check the childconceiving potential of a man’s sperm, according to the journal Science Translational Medicine.

The clip-on device, which cost under £4 to assemble, is intended to make assessing male fertility as simple and quick as pregnancy testing. It is expected to provide helpful answers to millions of couples confused and upset by their inability to have children.

But the ability to test a semen sample with a phone in under five seconds may also see awkward social situations, as women add sperm quality to their prospective partner check list.

Testing sperm simply involves drawing semen into a disposable holder that is plugged into one side of the phone attachment, USB-style. In seconds, results of the analysis are displayed on the phone’s screen. In early tests, the gadget detected abnormal sperm samples with an accuracy of 98%.

Dr Hadi Shafiee, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, US, said: “We wanted to come up with a solution to make male infertility testing as simple and affordable as home pregnancy tests.”