SwimCount, a revolution in male fertility diagnosis

Infertility threatens the love and harmony of a home. Many couples are faced with the unimaginable agony of childlessness.

The desire of most couples in Nigeria is to become parents within the first or second year of marriage.

While many have it fulfilled, a large number are still battling with the challenge of infertility. In spite of their efforts, a lot of people have had their hopes dashed. And when pregnancy is not achieved at a point, mistrust sets in the relationship.Most of the time, the woman bears the brunt of it all.

It is estimated that 40 to 45% of all consultations in gynecological clinics are infertility–related. Oftentimes, men are uncomfortable and embarrassed to talk about it and also not willing to submit to fertility checks in the clinic for fear and shame of people knowing their problems because of ego. Cultural inhibitions are responsible for this, too, as it is a behavioral pattern of typical African men.

 

The major causes of male infertility are genetic, physical abnormalities, infection of the genital tracts while others can be traced to environmental factors such as heat, toxins and chemicals. Researchers have also found out that sitting down for long periods and wearing tight clothing may increase the temperature in the scrotum resulting in slight reduction of sperm quality.

Again, a person’s health and lifestyle have also been found to affect male sperm quality, while other causes such as drugs use, alcohol and tobacco smoking also may affect male fertility.

Emotional stress can interfere with certain hormones needed to produce sperm. Severe or prolonged emotional stress, including problems with fertility, can affect your sperm count and sperm quality.




The most common problem of these factors manifest relates to sperm production in both quantity and quality.

Often, men are uncomfortable and embarrassed to talk about it and are also not willing to submit to fertility checks in the clinic for fear and shame of people knowing their problems because of ego. Cultural inhibitions are also responsible for this, as it is a behavioral pattern of typical African men.

Now, all these challenges of testing are over.

The SwimCountSperm Quality Test is here to their rescue.The SwimCount Sperm Quality Testis a revolution and a pre-screening device for the early diagnosis of male infertility. It is the first test that takes into accountnot only the concentration but also the Progressive Motility of the Sperm Cells (PMSCs) which is the only sperm that can fertilize an egg.

SwimCount is a home sperm test kitwhich measures the sperm quality as well as quantity. Thus,SwimCountis a more complete first diagnosis of PMSCs. 

Until now, the male fertility tests only took into account the quantity of sperm and not the quality, although other factors, such as Progressive Motility - their ability to move forward in a straight line -are more important for fertilization, for which only a single sperm of optimal quality is necessary. In other words, a Progressive Motile Sperm Cell is the only sperm cell that can fertilize the egg.

It is a medical breakthrough with a test that allows men to obtain an early diagnosis with a high degree of reliability in the comfort of their own home.

In obtaining the sperm sample, you must never use the normal condom as it is laced with chemicals that prevent pregnancy. SwimCount therefore comes with a non-spermicide condom. The advantage of this is that the sperm specimen is collected after the sex act (saving the African man the embarrassment of obtaining the specimen through masturbation).

The technology behind SwimCount is based on the same principle as the well-known Swim-Up Technology and thereby measuring the number of PMSCs.

After depositing a small amount of liquefied semen sample into the device and the semen compartment, the semen cells that are able to move progressively and swim up into the Swim Up compartment are thenstained blue and drawn into the Result Window. In this way, the darker the color, the more PMSCs are present in the sample, which is seen after 30 minutes.

The threshold of male fertility by SwimCount is set at a count of more than 5 million PMSCs per mL(following the WHO criteria, 5^th ed., 2010).

A lower number than 5 million PMSCs/mL implies greater difficulties to obtain a natural pregnancy within a period of one year, so it is advisable to consult a reproductive specialist.