DIY sperm test to hit the market this fall
By Meghana Keshavan,
STAT News
| 06. 20. 2016
A semen centrifuge is the newest direct-to-consumer fertility device on the market. The Trak, a desktop gadget that measures a man’s sperm count, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration earlier this month for consumer use.
The device, developed by Bay Area startup Sandstone Diagnostics, runs on AA batteries, costs $159.99, and even syncs with your phone. It’s slated to ship directly to consumers this fall.
Men use a dropper to deposit a sample of their ejaculate into a small well in the device. Powered by a small motor, the Trak quickly spins the semen so that the sperm cells settle on the bottom. The device then simply gauges the level of sperm cells in the sample.
Continue reading on STAT News
Image via Flickr
Related Articles
By Jennifer Denbow, Guest Contributor
| 10.29.2026
Almost every day I am reminded that we are in the midst of a fertility panic. Whether it’s the Vice President exhorting Americans to have more babies or The New York Times running yet another story about the fertility cliff, fear about falling fertility rates is everywhere. While centrally concerned with declining rates of childbearing, Anna Louie Sussman’s new book, Inconceivable: The Impossibility of Family in an Age of Uncertainty, is a welcome antidote to the panic.
Sussman has written...
By Anna Louie Sussman, The New Republic | 10.26.2026
There’s a certain kind of novel that’s not quite apocalyptic enough to be science fiction, but just far-fetched enough to be speculative. No one is from outer space; society has not yet been carved up into a hierarchy of groups...
By Ariana Aspuru and Noel King, Vox | 10.14.2026
For some couples, surrogacy is a miracle: an opportunity to have a child even if they’re unable to conceive one naturally. But it’s also big business. Not only is surrogacy expensive — think six figures — but it’s also largely...
By Sonia Suter and Naomi Cahn, The Conversation | 10.09.2026