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Photo
courtesy of cbc.ca |
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Intra
Vas Device |
A new contraceptive for men is
undergoing human clinical trials at the Shepherd Medical
Company in Vancouver.
The Intra Vas Device (IVD) is implanted
into the vas deferens of the penis to block sperm flow. The
2.5cm hollow silicone plug can later be removed without risk
if the man would like to start a family.
Professor Sasha Torres, specialist in
sexuality studies at the University of Western Ontario,
thinks that any new technology that expands the range of
contraceptive possibilities is a plus, but that the focus
should be put on a more appealing, non surgical option.
“It’s not going to be a magic bullet…
I don’t think this lets companies…off the hook for
developing a pill for men, which theoretically would be a
lot easier to do since their reproductive activities are a
lot less complicated than women’s’,” she said.
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Photo
courtesy of cbc.ca |
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Dr.
Neil Pollock |
Dr. Neil Pollock, co-founder of
Shepherd Medical Company, thinks that the IVD can
revolutionize birth control and give men a fully reversible
and therefore less risky option to a vasectomy.
Currently, reversing a vasectomy is
not only expensive but also reduces the possibility of
conception to about 60 per cent.
The $1000 U.S. IVD is implanted under
local anesthetic in a seven minute out patient procedure. A
small opening is made in the vas deferens tubes to insert
the plugs.
The nature of the procedure makes men
like Clint Terreault uneasy. “Any operation where you can be
cutting things open down there and inserting something…is
probably not going to appeal to a lot of men,” he said.
The IVD should hit European markets by
2007 and reach North American markets shortly afterwards.
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