New Fertility Pump Could be as Successful as IVF

For those that have undergone IUI, you know the process — placing sperm inside a woman’s uterus in hopes of fertilization. It’s usually done at a doctor’s office, and many couples go through multiple rounds of this in hopes of getting pregnant. But what if you didn’t have to go to the doctor for your IUI treatment?

The Evie device can help you get pregnant — while you’re out and about. It’s worn like a holster on a woman’s thigh, and a catheter is inserted in the woman’s uterus. There’s also a pump with a timer and an insemination syringe that artificially inseminates the wearer slowly over four hours. The device can be removed by the wearer and disposed of after.

David Dally of Reproductive Services, which is developing the product, told The Times: “This device gives women more freedom. The catheter is initially inserted by a health professional and then [the patient is] free to leave the clinic, go to work, go home.”

“Four hours later they can remove the device themselves. It is a low-cost treatment that requires very little technology.”

A three-year trial with 250 women found pregnancy rates at 35%, which is about as successful as IVF! It’s apparently the slow release of sperm with the Evie that makes it similar to natural conception and more likely for an egg to be fertilized. It’s also supposed to minimize the loss of sperm.

Dally is looking to launch the product hopefully in 2017, and it would cost about the same as an IUI.