Developing birth control that targets the testes has posed unique challenges in the past. But several innovative methods in the works aim to bring new male-focused contraceptives to the marketplace. BirthControl Contraceptives DiscoverMagazine
At first glance, COSO looks like a hot tub for mice that was manufactured and designed by Apple. Thecomes in matte black and white, accented by a strip of blue light around its rim, and has an outlet for a modern charging cable. The elegant gadget is the latest evolution of birth control designed for anyone with testes. This latest device bombards a pair of testes with ultrasound frequencies that will render sperm immotile.
While hormonal birth control has been zeroing in on ovaries since 1960, options targeting the male reproductive system have remained virtually unchanged since that time. “It’s basically condoms, vasectomies and withdrawal — if you consider that a method,” saysa birth control researcher and men's health specialist. “Female contraceptives are great but there are a lot of women who can’t take them or tolerate them for various reasons. That leaves couples with limited options.
Though the aesthetic German ball bath has created buzz in the design world, the project will need to find funding for clinical trials if it is to reach consumers. Its ultrasound technology is based on a sparse, although promising, body of research that dates backdescribed the prospects for ultrasound as such: “It is plausible that this technology will represent a major breakthrough to combat world population growth.
“There’s a small, hardy group of researchers who all want to see this come to fruition and all have their own ideas about how to do it,” Amory says.Hormonal manipulation is the most common form of female birth control, and it may be the solution for men, too. These methods target the largest erogenous zone of all: the brain.