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Old 07-08-2008, 01:02 PM   #1 (permalink)
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Remote control birth control - for men?!

See the article here: http://technology.newscientist.com/a...vasectomy.html

Quote:
A radio-controlled contraceptive implant that could control the flow of sperm from a man's testicles is being developed by scientists in Australia.

The device is placed inside the vas deferens – the duct which carries sperm from each testicle to the penis. When closed, it blocks the flow of sperm cells, allowing them to pass again when it is opened via a remote control. The valve could be a switchable alternative to vasectomy, the researchers say.

Although women can choose from several long-term contraceptive methods, for men vasectomy is really the only option. With this procedure, the vasa deferentia are cut or blocked, a process that requires surgery and can require a week of recovery. The procedure cannot be reliably reversed, leaving some men to later regret their decision.

Now, a team from the University of Adelaide, Australia, may have come up with a more easily reversed alternative. They have designed a small radio-controlled valve that would "push-fit" snugly inside the vas deferens and block the passage of sperm.

The silicone-polymer valve can be flipped between open and closed positions with a pulse of radio waves. A set of conducting "fingers" on the valve act as antennae and convert the signal's energy into sound waves that travel through the polymer and create stresses inside the device.
Remote control

"Since it is flexible, the polymer either contracts or expands as a result, and this movement allows the valve to be opened or closed as needed," explains team leader Said Al-Sarawi.

"It will be like turning a TV on and off with a remote control," added team founder Derek Abbott, "except that the remote will probably be locked away in your local doctor's office to safeguard against accidental pregnancy or potential misuse of the device."

To secure the device against accidental activation, the device works in a similar way to a car's remote key-fob. Each valve responds only to a radio-frequency signal with a unique code.

Another advantage of the microvalve is that would not require open surgery, unlike a vasectomy. The 800 micron-long device could simply be inserted using a hypodermic needle. "The procedure could be performed in a special clinic rather than in a hospital," says Abbott.

The researchers have finished the design of all parts of the valve, and are convinced it will work effectively. The next step is to test it in the lab with a tube of pressurized water. After that, trials could begin in live sheep and pigs, they say.
'Grace period'

One potential problem, however, is that after a while the valve may clog with protein and remain shut, rendering the man permanently infertile.

"We would only propose the device to men who were thinking of having a full vasectomy anyway," said Abbott. "But, unlike in an actual vasectomy, he would have a 'grace period' where the procedure can easily be reversed." How such a device affects gender politics would also make a fascinating social study, he added.

Men who regret a vasectomy can often only have children using donor sperm, says Natalie Gamble, associate with UK law firm Lester Aldridge.

"Although the law protects families conceiving with the help of a sperm donor, this type of conception has significant legal and emotional implications," she adds. " I am sure men will welcome the chance to control their fertility more flexibly, and to preserve the chance to have their own genetic child."

Joe Hofmeister is president of US firm Shepherd Medical Company, which is also working on male contraceptive devices. "Consumer market research performed by an independent third party for Shepherd confirms a strong patient desire for a permanent-yet-reversible male contraceptive such as the microvalve or other such system."
What do you think? Men of TFP: would you want to try this (if it was already tested and proven, of course)? Women of TFP: would you want your SO to try this? In what situations would you think this a good idea? Those of you who have had experience with vasectomies.. would you have preferred a device like this, that would allow you to reverse the procedure during a "grace" period?

Personally, the concept of male birth control is very appealing. I wouldn't be singularly responsible for an "accident," and the further reduction of the chance of becoming pregnant when I don't want to be would be really nice. Unfortunately, though, it still looks like male birth control experiments are not as easily reversible as most female birth control methods. I suppose that something like this would be a good idea later in life - after I've had my kidlet or two.
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Old 07-08-2008, 01:09 PM   #2 (permalink)
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I'd have a hard time trusting that it's actually closed... you know when you lock the door you can check it... how do you check that the little sperms aren't able to squeeze out the door????

the only way to tell would be after the fact.
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Old 07-08-2008, 01:32 PM   #3 (permalink)
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I squirmed. Did you?-
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Old 07-08-2008, 02:19 PM   #4 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Halx
I squirmed. Did you?-
Definitely.

The minute there's a male birth control product on the market, I'm on it. My girls have shouldered the BC burden for way too long. I'd have a vasectomy, but there's discussion around here that we might someday want sprouts, and I'd hate to prematurely preclude that option.

I'm not sold on this design, though. It's like those RFID credit cards--I want a positive, physical SWIPE of my card to know I'm charging something. Waving it in the proximity of the reader just feels like an overly vague and accident-prone user interface to me. While I'm generally against surgery on my junk, I sort of want my doctor to actually go in there and DO something to make me fertile again, rather than just waving a transmitter at me.
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Old 07-08-2008, 03:00 PM   #5 (permalink)
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There are problems with it, including the rise of black-market transmitters allowing unscrupulous women to hack into their boyfriends' junk for the purposes of 'accidentally' getting pregnant But if it works, it's a lot better than the current state of men's birth control, and something I would use.
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Old 07-08-2008, 03:29 PM   #6 (permalink)
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I dunno... I'm kinda terrified of what happens to your load when it becomes blocked. Is there an 'Overflow' property built in?

Because I don't want the back half of my wang to bulge up like a party balloon when I got an extra big load to drop.
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Old 07-08-2008, 03:32 PM   #7 (permalink)
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I'd sooner just have a kid or two.
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Old 07-08-2008, 03:42 PM   #8 (permalink)
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No needle is going near my junk.
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Old 07-08-2008, 06:33 PM   #9 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Faba
I dunno... I'm kinda terrified of what happens to your load when it becomes blocked. Is there an 'Overflow' property built in?

Because I don't want the back half of my wang to bulge up like a party balloon when I got an extra big load to drop.
Back to biology class, my friend. Please google yourself up a picture of the male reproductive system, and note the following items:
- vas deferens
- seminal vesicles
- urethra

What's blocked is the vas deferens, which is the tube connecting the testicles to the seminal vesicle, where it's mixed with seminal fluid and held awaiting ejaculation. No clear path through the vas deferens means the semen has no sperm in it. A vasectomy is the surgical disconnection of the vas deferens.
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Old 07-11-2008, 01:00 PM   #10 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Faba
I dunno... I'm kinda terrified of what happens to your load when it becomes blocked. Is there an 'Overflow' property built in?

Because I don't want the back half of my wang to bulge up like a party balloon when I got an extra big load to drop.
But then you could just surprise the hell out of whomever and cover them in goo. That'd be damn funny, really.
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Old 07-11-2008, 03:56 PM   #11 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Faba
I dunno... I'm kinda terrified of what happens to your load when it becomes blocked. Is there an 'Overflow' property built in?

Because I don't want the back half of my wang to bulge up like a party balloon when I got an extra big load to drop.
fuck, I just spit out pita chips reading this ya bastard!
I don't know about the whole thing. It does seem like a nice vasectomy alternative, but seems to have some drawbacks (like devious girls manipulating it). I guess I would consider it if I were in the appropriate situation.
And yes Halx I did squirm...
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Old 07-11-2008, 05:00 PM   #12 (permalink)
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Definitely would like some sort of male birth control... dont know that I would really feel comfortable trusting a little valve...

there were some others I've read about that I thought sounded better.
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Old 07-11-2008, 07:30 PM   #13 (permalink)
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What I find really odd is that they talk about how this can be done in a clinic with a needle. How about we skip the radio-controlled valve business and "push fit" a solid silicone plug as an alternative to having my naughty bits cut on?
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Old 07-17-2008, 11:40 PM   #14 (permalink)
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It sounds creepy...

Why not just pull out in the knick of time...like they do in just about every porno ever made??? I do and after having sex 2-3 times a day for over 8 years it worked every time, discipline is the magic word here!!!
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Old 07-18-2008, 01:31 AM   #15 (permalink)
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I cringed at "push fit" and laughed at "clog with protein."

I admit the potential risk of becoming "permanently infertile" does concern me, as this is the major reason most men don't get vasectomies. But I really find the "gizmo" factor oddly appealing. I can only imagine the conversations that this will spark up:

"Oh yea? Well mine is 800 microns long, got flexible silicone-polymer micro valves controlled by remote, protected by my own security code that's locked away. Shoots lasers, too."
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Old 07-20-2008, 04:36 AM   #16 (permalink)
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It sounds high-tech, but I don't think it will be the perfect solution. There needs to be something that even 14 year olds can use. It seems like all of the methods out there are targeting guys who have had a kid or two and are done.
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Old 07-20-2008, 04:51 AM   #17 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jozen-Bo
It sounds creepy...

Why not just pull out in the knick of time...like they do in just about every porno ever made??? I do and after having sex 2-3 times a day for over 8 years it worked every time, discipline is the magic word here!!!
You know what they call guys who use the withdrawal method of birth control?

Daddy.
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Old 07-20-2008, 09:10 PM   #18 (permalink)
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Man, I'm disappointed. Here I thought you were all going to give me great advice on how to finally get the tv remote control away from my husband. *sigh* Bummer.

I had to laugh when I first read the article and got to the part about it being like a remote control to a tv. I thought about the one button that turns the television on and off. And how I sometimes don't press the button hard enough, and have to try again.

I could see some guy new at this, trying to close the valve. "okay, I pressed it...wait...I didn't feel anything...lemme try again...still nothing...here you try it...are you pressing the button hard enough?...well maybe I'm not supposed to feel anything...oh hell...how many times did we push the button??...Is it on, or is it off?"

Good thing they'll make them more like my car's key fob, and leave it in the doctor's office instead. Nobody ever hits the "lock" button instead of the "unlock" button, right?
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Old 07-21-2008, 06:14 AM   #19 (permalink)
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Quote:
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I could see some guy new at this, trying to close the valve. "okay, I pressed it...wait...I didn't feel anything...lemme try again...still nothing...here you try it...are you pressing the button hard enough?...well maybe I'm not supposed to feel anything...oh hell...how many times did we push the button??...Is it on, or is it off?"
Perhaps they could wire in a LED or something.
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Old 07-21-2008, 07:52 AM   #20 (permalink)
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Quote:
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Perhaps they could wire in a LED or something.
That skin is pretty thin. It would be cool to have glowing balls. Red for fertile, green for non-fertile.
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Old 07-21-2008, 08:16 PM   #21 (permalink)
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That skin is pretty thin. It would be cool to have glowing balls. Red for fertile, green for non-fertile.
Shit, dude, I'd get it just so my balls would glow!
That would be SA-WEEET!
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