Taiwan-based Aidmics unveiled an iPad mini accessory called iSperm that is used to determine men’s fertility. The device attaches to Apple’s tablet featuring a tiny microscope that enlarges the contents of a few drops of semen inside a pipette, lit by a backlight. The light beams the moving image to the iPad camera, and algorithms then analyze the sample for total sperm count and motility, or how fast sperm can swim.
Initially, the device was made to help livestock farmers, but founder Agean Lin now plans to seek U.S. FDA approval next year to expand its use to men.
iSperm debuted last August and has sold nearly 200 sets to farms around the world.“In the U.S., one out of every six couples has trouble conceiving,” Lin told Reuters. According to investment advisory Harris Williams, the global fertility market is worth as much as $40 billion, so there’s definitely room for companies like Aidmics, which offer hi-tech solutions to the age-old problem.
iSperm debuted last August and has sold nearly 200 sets to farms around the world. By no means it is the first at-home sperm tester but the only one that offers instant fertility measurements combined with live visuals of the sperm.
Lin said he aims to price the iSperm device between $100 and $200, a fraction of the cost of the commercial version.
