Health

New Tests for Healthy Sperm

by Karenke4 | January 19, 2009 at 05:29 pm

199 views | 5 Recommendations | 1 comment

Good news for couples trying to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization. New technology will allow couples to test sperm quality before going through with the procedure.

The new test measures the DNA quality of sperm, but unlike existing tests, it does not kill the sperm, so it can still be used for IVF treatment.

The new tests examines the health of the sperm by focusing it between two lasers. Sperm quality is then determined based on the vibrations emitted.

Dr Alistair Elfick, lead scientist on the project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, said: "In natural conception the fittest and healthiest sperm are positively selected by the arduous journey they make to the egg.

"What our technology does is to replace natural selection with a DNA based 'quality score'."