I have previously written about home sperm tests previously including this one which previously was not ready for distribution. It was a 3D printed adaptation of one’s cell phone to make it into a substitute for a computer assisted semen analysis or CASA.
How it did work and still works: The 3 d printed cartridge fits on your cell phone. A drop of a semen specimen is placed on a microscope slide. In the current version, the semen specimen is mixed with a substance they call a “liquefying powder” and I have to assume at least one purpose of the mixture is to stain the sperm so that they can be imaged by the phone’s camera. The Yo Sperm app, then enables your phone to do a sperm count and grade its motility.
The product is available on Amazon for $59.95 as of the date of this blog and based on my view of their product video, seems to do a reasonable job as an initial screen. A few do’s, don’ts and caveats should be considered here.
The Yo Sperm test appears to do a reasonable job as an initial look at a semen specimen and will likely, reliably detect a low or zero sperm count. However, it does not measure sperm morphology which is an essential part of a routine semen analysis. There are also newer sperm testes related to sperm function, genetics and epigenetics which will likely play a larger role in male fertility evaluation in the future.
