Researchers have created a new fertility chip that can precisely count sperm cell even at home.

This is a vital step towards the progression of a compact tool for dependable pre-scanning of male fertility.

Every year more than 10,000 pairs in the Netherlands ask for assistance due to involuntary childlessness. A sperm study is normally the initial step of fertility research.

Examining sperm quality needs strict pre-test preparations and a specific research laboratory. Examinations often have to be repeated two to five times for enough reliability.

If men can perform the examinations in the privacy of their own home this makes the process much less uncomfortable for them.

Besides, the likelihood of a reliable analysis is augmented as well. Lastly, the investigators think that the costs for health insurers can be diminished too.

The chip has been created by Loes Segerink from the University of Twente in the Netherlands.

Simple home examinations are available, but these can only point out that the sperm count is higher or lower the normal level. These examinations are too limited as they do not actually calculate the concentration of spermatozoa.

On the novel chip, the sperm flow via a fluid channel, above which electrodes are built-in.

When a cell runs below this 'bridge', its electrical resistance alters briefly, and this event is counted.

It is vital that the count differentiates between spermatozoa and other particles or cells in the fluid: if other particles are incorporated the calculation will be defective, says a University of Twente release.

These discoveries have been issued online in Lab on a Chip. (With Input from Agencies)