I-Corps: Quantitative Diagnosis of Sperm Quality

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Sperm quality determines a man's ability to conceive, but many men do not know their chances of having a baby or why they are infertile. This I-Corps team proposes to develop a technology that provides men a new way to assess their sperm quality and fertility. Ultimately, it helps the infertile couples that are seeking treatment options. Furthermore, assessing sperm quality is also important to sperm banks, fertility clinics, and farmers that produce livestock because the ability to select the best quality sperm leads to an increase in productivity and profit. Currently, only some aspects of sperm quality can be determined, and the proposed project expands the parameters of sperm analysis, leading to better sperm evaluation and identification of unrecognized infertility. Since the technology identifies a new type of infertility, it has the potential to be a disruptive innovation in the reproductive medicine market.One out of eight couples is infertile, affecting millions of people in the USA alone. With current technology, approximately 20% of these couples do not know the basis of their infertility and cannot attribute it to either the man or the woman. This rate of infertility describes a very broad and compelling market need. The technology provides physicians in fertility clinics the ability to identify whether male patients are infertile and predict the success of in vitro fertilization. Since treatments are usually not covered by insurance and have only a 25% chance of success, anything that can increase the predictability of success would be an important way to maintain physicians' reputations and success ratios. Other potential market areas might be agricultural; farms that breed livestock such as turkey, dairy cattle, and pigs, by using artificial insemination. This technology would provide the farmer a diagnostic tool to assess semen quality to increase agricultural productivity. Furthermore, sperm banks could use our technology to predict the quality of the sperm they sell. Overall the technology would significantly enhance the assessment of sperm quality and capability to produce a healthy baby or offspring. Using I-Corps funding this team will determine specific areas where the proposed technology can be utilized. In order to investigate the customers' needs, such as accuracy level, price, and ease of use, this team will look for potential customers who have experienced the current technology and customers who are not satisfied with the current technology.