Determining sperm health at home: Professor develops accessible male fertility tests

MME Professor Dr. Sushanta Mitra led a research team with two postdoctoral fellows, Shirshendu Misra and Sudip Shyam, and a professor in systems design engineering, to discover a simpler method to test the fertility of male sperm. Through their research they have found a positive correlation between sperm cell activity and droplet adhesion. This discovery could lead to the development of at-home strip test kits that can assess the viability of sperm cells.  

Dr. Suhsanta Mitra collaborated with systems design professor Dr. Veronika Magdanz, because of her expertise on sperm cell behaviour. Meanwhile, the team led by Dr. Mitra used their knowledge used their knowledge that spanned multiple engineering disciplines with interface science to approach this topic in a new direction. 

They discovered that measuring the strength of adhesion of a sperm cell to any generic surface can indicate it’s motility. In simpler terms, the speed and force required for the cell to unstick from a surface determines its health. This link enables them to utilize strip test kits to assess the fertility of sperm cells – a simple and accessible alternative to lengthy lab testing sessions.  

The team is currently focused on producing a more developed prototype that can detect sperm activity at home. They are fast tracking the process and soon, there could be an inexpensive strip test available at nearby clinics. Want to learn more? The full article can be viewed on Waterloo News and the study, Connecting Droplet Adhesion with Sperm Kinematics: A New Paradigm in Sperm Quality Monitoring, has open access on Advanced Material Interfaces.